After torrential rain, tens of thousands of visitors to the legendary Burning Man festival are still trapped in the mud of the Nevada desert. US state authorities asked people on Sunday (local time) to remain at the large event site in Black Rock City for now. In fact, the festival was supposed to end on Monday. However, it was feared that access and exit routes could be blocked until Tuesday or Wednesday.
On Sunday morning, police said “just over 70,000 people” were trapped in Black Rock City. On Friday, access to the site, which is more than ten kilometers from the nearest residential buildings, was closed due to heavy rain. One person died during the rains.
Despite the authorities’ request not to abandon the site, some visitors tried to return to civilization on foot. Others resigned themselves to the inevitable: “I’m a surgeon and I actually have to work on Tuesday. But I’m slowly realizing that won’t be possible,” said one doctor who traveled from California and declined to give his name. “Patients need me, but I can’t do anything.”
It is not clear whether a large wooden statue can be burned?
The Burning Man festival takes place annually and started on August 27th this year. The event’s trademark and namesake is the burning of a twelve-meter-high wooden statue. It was initially unclear whether this would happen this year: organizers postponed the event until Monday night (local time).
The festival sees itself as an indefinable event somewhere between a counterculture celebration and a spiritual retreat. After its small, impromptu beginnings, “Burning Man” has grown into a well-organized mass event over the years. The annual budget is almost 45 million dollars (around 42 million euros). Last year, 75 thousand people participated.
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