By Aimee Bulger
Staff Writer
Over 70,000 attendees were trapped in place at the Burning Man festival in Pershing County, NV, earlier this month due to heavy rains, creating thick and deep mud.
This made any escape from the storms nearly impossible, as the mud prevented vehicles from driving and walking very difficult. Many dedicated attendees stayed to embrace what the weekend had to offer–the culture at the core of the event–while others who preferred an ideal situation found it too much to withstand.
The Burning Man Festival occurs annually in a desert area known as Black Rock City, creating a temporary city of tents, cars, RVs and more that attendants occupy for the duration of the festival.
“Our intention is to generate society that connects each individual to his or her creative powers, to participation in community, to the larger realm of civic life and to the even greater world of nature that exists beyond society,” the Burning Man website states.
The festival is a large weekend-long party, full of culture, comradery and livelihood. Each festival honors a specific theme–this year’s being “Animalia”–with the individuality and spirits of the attendees. Each year, the festival concludes with the burning of a large statue of a makeshift man.
This year, however, the festival was less than ideal. The desert grounds were hit with two-to-three months worth of rain over the course of 24 hours (Friday to Saturday), with more the following Sunday.
This storm created ankle-deep mud that was nearly impossible to walk through, stranding cars, RVs and people alike in place until it dried.
The CEO of the festival, Marian Goodell, claimed there was “no cause for panic,” as the situation was under control to the best of their abilities.
Attendees were cautioned to ration food, water and fuel for the duration of the storm. All vehicles were prohibited from leaving Black Rock City until the mud and water began to dry up. One death has been reported and is being investigated by the event.
This storm did not seem to damper the spirits of the attendees, though, as the parties commenced through the mud and rain. Many attempted to make the most out of the situation until they were able to safely exit.
Festival goer Dawne Looney told CNN, “We are great. It is a great community. We rallied together. Staff has plans X, Y and Z, and everybody's kind of having a good time, oddly enough."
Many others did not take kindly to this storm, and took to hiking out through the mud. Amongst the hikers were celebrities Diplo and Chris Rock, who reportedly hiked six miles in the mud together to escape.
Hordes of other festival attendees pursued this path as well, starting their own journeys on Saturday and throughout the rest of the weekend.
As of now, the driving ban on the festival has been lifted and the partiers have slowly made their way back home.
The official “burning of the man” commenced Monday evening, allowing the festival to conclude with its sacred tradition intact. Hopefully, next year’s festival will go off without a hitch, making up for the swamplands that consumed Black Rock City this year.
