Upwards of 70,000 attendees of Burning Man have been ordered to shelter in place and urged to conserve their food, water, and fuel after storms flooded the festival’s grounds.
The entrance to Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, where Burning Man is held, will be closed until Monday, August 27th.
“Officials from the Bureau of Land Management and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office have closed ingress to the Burning Man event effective immediately and for the remainder of the event. Participants inbound for the event should turn around and head home,” officials said in a statement on Saturday.
“Rain over the last 24 hours has created a situation that required a full stop of vehicle movement on the playa. More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa.”
According to ABC News, about one-half inch of rain fell on Friday, and another quarter of an inch of rain is expected late Saturday into Sunday.
Beyond restricting the flow of supplies, the flooding is also impacting port-o-potties from being emptied, as comedian Chris Rock has pointed out. Rock, who is apparently attending the event, wrote on social media, “From what I understand, because of the flooding, the port-o-potties reportedly can’t be emptied. And because the gates are closed, people can’t get in to fill generators or deliver supplies.”
Tens of thousands of people attending the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert are being told to conserve food, water and fuel as they shelter in place after a heavy rainstorm https://t.co/63N6id7vyn pic.twitter.com/sc0VeClt9Y
— philip lewis (@Phil_Lewis_) September 2, 2023
Burning Man 2023 is now declared a national emergency by the US government as over 73,000 campers are stranded, sheltering in place in their campsites at event
We hope everyone makes it out safe pic.twitter.com/x4BB3iqt78
— edmtrain (@edmtrainapp) September 2, 2023
Best Wetting Man ever. No one is getting in or out of here anytime soon. #burningman #BurningMan2023 pic.twitter.com/VLsglmXaYF
— Eddie Codel (@ekai) September 2, 2023
just walked 5 miles in the mud out of burning man with chris rock and a fan picked us up pic.twitter.com/0uxSXLHgY6
— diplo (@diplo) September 2, 2023