Burning Man festival mired in mud

FILE – In this Aug. 26, 2002 file photo the sun rises behind a wood and neon statue, the center piece of the annual Burning Man festival north of Gerlach, Nev. Burning Man organizers are considering requiring attendees to prove they’ve been vaccinated for COVID-19 if they move forward with plans to hold this year’s counter-culture festival in the Nevada desert. But they have backed off an earlier announcement that they’d already decided to make shots mandatory, and won’t decide for sure until the end of the month whether the event that was canceled last year due to the pandemic will even take place. (AP Photo/Debra Reid, File)

by: Perry Groten

Posted: Sep 3, 2023 / 05:46 AM CDT

Updated: Sep 4, 2023 / 11:42 AM CDT

RENO, NV (Associated Press) — Authorities in Nevada were investigating a death at the site of the Burning Man festival where thousands of attendees remained stranded Saturday night as flooding from storms swept through the Nevada desert.

Organizers closed vehicular access to the counterculture festival and attendees trudged through mud, many barefoot or wearing plastic bags on their feet. The revelers were urged to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies.

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said the death happened during the event but offered few details as the investigation continued, including the identity of the deceased person or the suspected cause of death, KNSD-TV reported.

Vehicle gates will not open for the remainder of the event, which began on Aug. 27 and was scheduled to end Monday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the Black Rock Desert where the festival is being held.

More than one-half inch of rain is believed to have fallen on Friday at the festival site, located about 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of Reno, the National Weather Service in Reno said. At least another quarter of an inch of rain is expected Sunday.

The Reno Gazette Journal reported organizers started rationing ice sales and that all vehicle traffic at the sprawling festival grounds had been stopped, leaving portable toilets unable to be serviced.

Officials haven’t yet said when the entrance is expected to be opened again, and it wasn’t immediately known when celebrants could leave the grounds.