Burning Man attendees bond while making most of muddy mess
Monsoon rains Friday and over the weekend caused flash flooding at the festival, turning the usually dry, desert setting into a muddy mess that prevented tens of thousands from leaving the festival grounds.
Burning Man attendees bond while making most of muddy mess
Cutter Ray Palacios, a first-time Burning Man attendee, describes how fellow
BLACK ROCK DESERT, Nev. – Cutter Ray Palacios, a first-time Burning Man attendee, describes how fellow "burners" fostered a sense of community while being stranded at the Nevada festival by floodwaters.
Monsoon rains Friday and over the weekend caused flash flooding at the annual Burning Man Festival, turning the usually dry, desert setting into a muddy mess that prevented tens of thousands from leaving the festival grounds.
Despite this, many festival attendees made the most of the mess. According to Palacios, attendees spent the time telling stories, playing music and card games, spending time in art installations known as "art cars" and watching the sun rise together.
The undated image shows a rainbow seen over the muddy grounds of the "Burning Man" festival.
(David Crane / picture alliance / Getty Images)
He also noted how some people shared food, water and other resources with one another, particularly as the remote location of the festival and the road closures caused by floodwater prevented attendees from leaving or receiving much outside help.
FLOOD-STRANDED BURNING MAN REVELERS BEGIN MASS EXODUS AFTER MONSOON RAINS TRAPPED FESTIVALGOERS
While floodwaters may have temporarily disconnected attendees from the world outside the festival, they helped create a closeness among the attendees as they bonded over such a unique weather experience.
"Burning Man's all about community and talking with one another, and we continued to do that through the rain," he said.
![Attendees gather to watch the burning of "The Chapel of Babel," a work of art by Michael Burlington, during the annual Burning Man Festival in the early morning of September 5, 2023. Thousands of revelers stuck in the mud for days at the Burning Man festival in the US state of Nevada were told they could finally trek home on September 4, 2023, after torrential rain had prompted shelter-in-place orders. With the sun shining on the colorful makeshift community of 70,000 people called Black Rock City, the roads opened Monday afternoon, kicking off the official exit process known as the "Exodus." (Photo by Julie JAMMOT / AFP) (Photo by JULIE JAMMOT/AFP via Getty Images)]()
Image 1 of 4Attendees gather to watch the burning of "The Chapel of Babel," a work of art by Michael Burlington, during the annual Burning Man Festival in the early morning of September 5, 2023. (Julie JAMMOT / AFP)
![Attendees walk through a muddy desert plain on September 2, 2023, after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site in Nevada's Black Rock desert into a mud pit. Tens of thousands of drenched festivalgoers were stranded on September 3, 2023, in deep, sticky mud in the Nevada desert after torrential rain turned the annual Burning Man gathering into a quagmire. All events at the counterculture festival, which drew some 70,000 people, were canceled after rain tore down structures for dance parties, art installations and other eclectic entertainment.]()
Image 2 of 4Attendees walk through a muddy desert plain on September 2, 2023, after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site in Nevada's Black Rock desert into a mud pit. (JULIE JAMMOT/AFP)
![TOPSHOT - Attendees walk through a muddy desert plain on September 2, 2023, after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site in Nevada's Black Rock desert into a mud pit. Tens of thousands of drenched festivalgoers were stranded on September 3, 2023, in deep, sticky mud in the Nevada desert after torrential rain turned the annual Burning Man gathering into a quagmire. All events at the counterculture festival, which drew some 70,000 people, were canceled after rain tore down structures for dance parties, art installations and other eclectic entertainment.]()
Image 3 of 4Attendees walk through a muddy desert plain on September 2, 2023, after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site in Nevada's Black Rock desert into a mud pit. (JULIE JAMMOT/AFP)
![Camps are set on a muddy desert plain on September 2, 2023, after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site in Nevada's Black Rock desert into a mud pit. Tens of thousands of drenched festivalgoers were stranded on September 3, 2023, in deep, sticky mud in the Nevada desert after torrential rain turned the annual Burning Man gathering into a quagmire. All events at the counterculture festival, which drew some 70,000 people, were canceled after rain tore down structures for dance parties, art installations and other eclectic entertainment.]()
Image 4 of 4Camps are set on a muddy desert plain on September 2, 2023, after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site in Nevada's Black Rock desert into a mud pit. (JULIE JAMMOT/AFP)
On Monday, festival attendees were allowed to leave by the grounds starting at noon, but muddy roads prevented vehicles from leaving until 2 p.m.
At least one death has been confirmed at Burning Man during the flooding rains on Friday. The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said they are investigating the death reported during the rain event to see whether it was related to the severe weather.
Drone video shows mass exodus out of Burning Man
Footage shows thousands of Burning Man attendees driving out of the Nevada festival grounds on Sept. 4 after being stranded by floodwater and mud over the weekend.