More than 70,000 people were left isolated in the desert in the US state of Nevada after storms and floods swept through the area, turning the site of the Burning Man counterculture festival into a dangerous mud pit. This Sunday morning (03/09), no one could get to or from Black Rock City, an entire city that is built every year for the festival.
The large amounts of rain turned the desert sand into a hard, heavy, claylike mass. Festivalgoers literally sank into the mud, with some trapped up to their ankles. Vehicles cannot move either.
All participants were advised by the organization to shelter “in a warm place” and limit their water and food consumption, as it is not yet known when the streets will be open.
The airport closest to the site also remains closed due to flooding and more rain is forecast. It is estimated that 38 millimeters of rain has fallen since Friday so far.
The party
This year’s Burning Man began on August 27th and was scheduled to end this Monday, September 4th.
The event was first held in San Francisco in 1986. In the 1990s it was relocated to the Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where it still occurs today.
At the end of the event, a 12metertall figure will be burned (archive photo)Photo: Andy Barron/The Reno GazetteJournal via A
The festival mixes counterculture, music and spirituality and culminates in the ceremonial burning of a 12metertall figure, a tradition that gives the event its name (burning man).
Since its beginnings, it has been a meeting place for bohemian and avantgarde artists, but more recently it has attracted a wider audience, including wealthy Silicon Valley tech executives.
With almost 80,000 visitors, 2019 was the festival’s most successful year to date.
le (AP, AFP, ots)