Burning Man festival-goer shows grim conditions after flooding chaos
More chaos has unfolded at the Burning Man festival as revellers clashed during the exodus from the Nevada desert.
Attendees finally began leaving the city at Black Rock City on Monday afternoon after severe flooding and muddy conditions left thousands stranded over the weekend.
But, during the mass exodus, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said that revellers had “lashed out” at each other as they faced eight hour waits to leave.
“As usually happens in what burners refer to as the ‘default world’ people allow their emotions to override their reasonableness and they are lashing out at each other as they leave the playa and attempt to make it to their next destination,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
The sheriff also released the identity of the man who died during the festival.
Leon Reece, 32, was found unresponsive on the playa on Friday. His death is currently under investigation but is said to not be weather-related.
The annual burning of the man – the festival finale – went ahead on Monday evening, after being delayed over the extreme weather.
Meanwhile, officials continue to field conspiracies including a debunked theory that the festival was hit with an Ebola outbreak.
Burning Man revellers ‘lash out’ as mass exodus gets under way
More chaos has unfolded at the Burning Man festival as revellers clashed during the exodus from the Nevada desert.
Attendees finally began leaving the city at Black Rock City on Monday afternoon after severe flooding and muddy conditions left thousands stranded over the weekend.
But, during the mass exodus, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said that revellers had “lashed out” at each other as they faced eight hour waits to leave.
“As usually happens in what burners refer to as the ‘default world’ people allow their emotions to override their reasonableness and they are lashing out at each other as they leave the playa and attempt to make it to their next destination,” he told the San Francisco Chronicle.
“This behavior definitely does not fall within the 10 principles of Burning Man, but that is not the fault of BMP either, but is a societal issue.”
Rachel Sharp5 September 2023 10:47
Last Burner Express to leave on Tuesday
The final Burner Express for Reno would leave on Tuesday at 10am (local time), according to a social media account associated with the Burning Man Project.
The Burner Express is a bus service offered by the festival organisers to transport people from San Francisco and Reno to Black Rock City and Back.
The wait time to leave the festival is 8 hours, it said.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar5 September 2023 10:30
Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Burning Man revellers are ‘brainwashed’
Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that Burning Man revellers are being “brainwashed” into believing the washout has been caused by the climate crisis.
The Republican congresswoman and notorious conspiracy theorist joined fellow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his Info Wars show on Sunday night, where they both launched into their beliefs about the festival in the Nevada desert.
“There’s 73 to 75,000 in the Nevada desert right now at this Burning Man. They’re locked in,” the far-right lawmaker said.
“They’re not allowed to leave and they’re basically probably being brainwashed that climate change is the cause of it and it’s going to destroy the Earth.”
Ariana Baio5 September 2023 10:00
Sheriff’s office names man who died at Burning Man
Authorities on Monday revealed the identity of the man who died at the Burning Man festival as thousands of attendees began their exodus from the northern Nevada desert following heavy rains.
The Pershing County sheriff’s office identified the man as 32-year-old Leon Reece.
Authorities received a call around 6.24pm (local time) on Friday about an unresponsive man on the ground at the ephemeral Black Rock City, sheriff Jerry Allen.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar5 September 2023 09:30
Climate activists cause miles of traffic chaos by blocking route to Burning Man
Burning Man traffic was brought to a recent standstill by a group of anti-capitalist climate change activists who blocked the main road to the festival.
On Sunday, nearly half a dozen protestors from the climate activist group Seven Circles stood in the middle of the road used to enter the desert venue. Others chained themselves to a trailer parked on the road.
Ariana Baio5 September 2023 09:00
Burning Man revellers built mud sculptures and waded through the dirt as partying continued despite chaos leaving thousands stranded at the Nevada desert festival after severe flooding.
Revellers were left to trudge through mud, many barefoot or wearing plastic bags on their feet, after being urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies over the weekend.
Burning Man revellers build mud sculptures as thousands stranded after floods
Burning Man revellers built mud sculptures and waded through the dirt as partying continued despite chaos leaving thousands stranded at the Nevada desert festival after severe flooding. One person has died during the event, but local law enforcement are yet to identify the individual and reveal the suspected cause of death. Tens of thousands of attendees remain stranded at the site in the Black Rock desert after the extreme weather. Revellers were left to trudge through mud, many barefoot or wearing plastic bags on their feet, after being urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies over the weekend.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar5 September 2023 08:30
Elon Musk calls Burning Man ‘best art on Earth’
Elon Musk offered lofty praise to the Burning Man festival – after this year’s event descended into disaster with one person dead and thousands left stranded in the Nevada desert.
“Burning Man is unique in the world,” Mr Musk wrote on his platform X on Sunday. “Hard to describe how incredible it is for those who have never been. Best art on Earth.”
The post drew scrutiny for two reasons. First off, it came as the desert festival is suffering from utter chaos on all sides — torrential floods caused by Tropical Storm Hilary, false claims of an Ebola outbreak, tens of thousands of stranded attendees, and even a death caused by reasons “unrelated to the weather.”
On top of this mess, Mr Musk seemed to be commenting on a video from Paris Fashion Week in 2022 — not Burning Man.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar5 September 2023 08:00
Three-eyed ‘dinosaur shrimp’ are waking up in the Nevada desert
Three-eyed “dinosaur shrimp” are stirring in the Nevada desert after flooding upended the Burning Man festival.
Triops and fairy shrimp are small crustaceans that can survive years lying dormant in drought conditions. They live in the ground in eggs until weather conditions such as floods can bring them to the surface, says IFL Science.
Nicknamed “dinosaur shrimp”, Triops are relatives of the oldest living creatures, Triops cancriformis, have two main eyes and a pit organ “third eye” that enables insects to detect changes in light and infrared waves.
Fairy shrimp have also resurfaced to join the mud party at Burning Man. Otherwise known as sea monkeys, they are translucent and are very good at withstanding salty environments.
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar5 September 2023 07:30
Black Rock City Municipal Airport opens
Officials with Burning Man said the Black Rock City Municipal Airport (BRC) would open at noon on Monday and flights would begin departing midday.
“Burner Express Air (BxA) operations start 2pm,” Burning Man Traffic said in a tweet. “Shuttle avail from bus depot to the airport.”
The flights are scheduled to go to Reno, Nevada.
Meanwhile, flights to Burbank and Oakland, California would depart on Tuesday.
Ariana Baio5 September 2023 07:00
Satellite image shows overview of traffic leaving Burning Man festival
Alisha Rahaman Sarkar5 September 2023 06:30