Approximately 70,000 of festivalgoers are stranded at Burning Man after the only roads into and out of the festival were closed to all but emergency vehicles due to heavy rain.
“As of 9am Sunday September 3, the Gate to Black Rock City is still closed. Ingress and egress are halted. The playa is too wet to navigate with vehicles,” the festival website reads. “Burns: At this time all Burns are postponed. We will update this information here as we get clearer on the weather and how it has impacted Burn logistics.”
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Burning Man attendees were told to shelter in place and conserve food, water, and fuel, though some have chosen to trek through the ankle-deep mud to the nearest town, including Diplo and Chris Rock, who appeared to be quite happy after successfully hitching a ride in the bed of a fan’s pickup truck, but not before the celebrity odd couple hiked 5 miles through the sludge, according to Diplo.
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
Authorities are also investigating a death “which occurred during this rain event” but have not released any details. It is unclear if the death was related to the storms.
President Joe Biden was briefed on the situation at the Burning Man on Sunday, and, according to a White House official, his administration is monitoring the situation along with state and local leaders.
Event attendees should listen to local authorities and event organizers, and head to this page for up-to-date information about the weather, Exodus, and what to expect over the next few days in Black Rock City.
This is a developing story.
We just published a new webpage of information about the weather, Exodus, and what to expect over the next few days in Black Rock City. The full page of information can be found at: https://t.co/qgc0mcFd0r. Please read and share.
— Burning Man Project (@burningman) September 3, 2023
I walked for 2 miles in the mud to escape from Burning Man and survived, AMA 😵💫 pic.twitter.com/MGKM6U2X2Q
— valerie ✌🏼 (@itsvalerielee) September 3, 2023