Wisconsinites stranded at Burning Man: 'It's a mud bath'
NEVADA - Wisconsinites are among those stranded at the Burning Man festival in the middle of the Nevada desert. Authorities said Sunday, Sept. 3 they're investigating a death.
An unusual late-summer storm turned a week-long counterculture fest into a sloppy mess with tens of thousands of partygoers stuck in foot-deep mud and with no working toilets in the northern Nevada desert.
Organizers closed the festival to vehicles after the death was reported. Officials provided no details of the fatality.
Some of the more than 70,000 stranded at the site in thick, ankle-deep mud are from Wisconsin.
"It's a mud bath, though," said Sarah Silver. "Everything is covered in mud. It's kind of like pouring paint on everything you own."
Sarah Silver and Jen McCommons are from Madison and Appleton and served as volunteer medics at the festival. They posted on social media about the major mess and their predicament.
More than half an inch of rain fell at the festival site on Friday, disrupting this year's festival. For the Reno area, which is about 141 miles south of the festival, the average rainfall for the whole month of September would be 0.21 inches, said Mark Deutschendorf, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno.
Attendees were urged to shelter in place and conserve water and supplies until conditions improve, which could be Monday.
"We have a camp of about 75 people, and we've all just come together, and we're helping the people who ran out of food and water," said McCommons. "Between all of us, there's plenty to go around. We're passing out food on the street. We take care of each other."
On their website, organizers encouraged participants to remain calm and suggested that the festival is built to endure conditions like the flooding. They said cellphone trailers were being dropped in several locations Saturday night and that they would be briefly opening up internet overnight. Shuttle buses were also being organized to take attendees to Reno from the nearest town of Gerlach, a walk of about five miles (eight kilometers) from the site.
The event began on Aug. 27 and had been scheduled to end Monday, according to the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which oversees the Black Rock Desert, where the festival was held.
The annual gathering in the Black Rock Desert about 110 miles (177 kilometers) north of Reno attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians and activists for a mix of wilderness camping and avant-garde performances. Disruptions are part of the event's recent history: Organizers had to temporarily close entrances to the festival in 2018 due to dust storms, and the event was twice canceled altogether during the pandemic.
Mud-caked boots at Burning Man. Sept. 2, 2023 Photo: Ilene Lelchuk Snyder
The event is remote on the best of days and emphasizes self-sufficiency — meaning most people bring in their own food, water and other supplies.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.