Death investigation underway, thousands trapped: What we know about 2023 Burning Man festival’s flooding chaos

Burning Man is already a test of “radical self-sufficiency” for festival goers but the 2023 event brought more hurdles than most would have imagined.

The start of the counter-culture festival was delayed by a rare hurricane on the west coast. Then climate activists blocked the only road leading to the site in Nevada‘s Black Rock Desert before being rammed by a tribal park ranger in his patrol truck. (That incident is now under investigation.)

From Thursday, heavy rains have poured on the desert area causing heavy flooding. This weekend, organizers and local authorities closed the roads in for the remainder of the festival and told those en route to turn around and go home.

More than 70,000 “Burners” at the site have been urged to hunker down and conserve supplies amid mud slicks and unserviced toilets.

On Sunday, police announced an investigation into an unspecified death at the festival but did not disclose the name of the deceased or whether foul play was suspected.

Here’s everything we know about the Burning Man 2023 fiasco:

The festival is a “temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance”, according to its website.

The six-day event in the Black Rock Desert ends with the torching of a 40-foot effigy of “the man” before Labor Day.

This year the festival was delayed due to flooding caused by Hurricane Hilary. The event has been held since 1986, when co-founders Larry Harvey and Jerry James first burned an improvised wooden figure at Baker Beach during the Summer Solstice.

In 1988, Harvey named the statue “burning man” and began promoting the event to people outside of his circle by handing out flyers and creating t-shirts, according to the Burning Man website.

By 1997, more than 10,000 attended the event and the number only continued growing over the years.

Burning Man did not take place during 2020 and 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This year, more than 70,000 showed up to the event, which kicked off on 27 August and is set to end on Monday.

A satellite image of the 2023 Burning Man festival

Climate activists protesting on the road leading into Burning Man last week were threatened by a park ranger who reportedly pointed a weapon at them and then rammed his patrol truck through their blockade.

The Pyramid Lake Paiute tribal ranger, whose name has not been released, could be seen on the videos as he exited his vehicle, drew the weapon and yelled for the protesters to get down on the ground. The incident is being investigated.

The tribal chairman, James J. Phoenix, released a statement and said the ranger was using his patrol vehicle to clear “debris” out of the roadway after climate activists refused to leave.

Emily Collins, one of the activists who had chained herself to the blockade, and her partner, Tom Diacono, travelled from Italy to participate in the protest, opting to skip Burning Man after attending the festival for many years.

“The planet is burning,” Mr Diacono told The Associated Press. “It’s a bit absurd to continue with the festival while the planet is begging for a change.”

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) capped the festival’s attendance in 2019 at 80,000 because of concerns about excess trash being left behind and safety issues, according to NPR.

The festival also contributed 100,000 tons of carbon dioxide that same year, The Guardian reported.

More than 73,000 stranded “Burners” were told to remain at their campsites as a slow-moving rainstorm fell on the typically dry desert over the weekend.

Organizers asked attendees to preserve food and water, and driving and biking was temporarily banned on the muddy roads.

“The Gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City remain closed. Ingress and egress are halted until further notice,” the festival’s traffic account tweeted on Saturday. “No driving is permitted except emergency vehicles. If you are in BRC, conserve food, water, and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space.”

Tents are seen covered to protect them from the rain at Burning Man (PAUL REDER/via REUTERS)

Cell phone service in the area is extremely limited, USA Today reported. Heavy rains continued on Sunday, according to the National Weather Service in Reno, Nevada.

BLM, the federal government agency that oversees the area where Burning Man is held, said that entry will remain closed for the rest of the festival.

DJ Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz, said in an Instagram video on Saturday that he only managed to leave the Black Rock Desert thanks to a fan who gave him and comedian Chris Rock a ride in the back of his pickup truck.

“I legit walked the side of the road for hours with my thumb out,” Mr Pentz said, adding that he had to walk six miles through the mud.

“Also shoutout to this guy for making the smart purchase of a truck not knowing it was for this exact moment.”

Video posted by attendees on TikTok showed people wearing trash bags up to their knees to walk in the mud.

“All the activities were shut down, we slept with no house music bumping, everything stopped,” TikTok user Angie Peacock said.

“They shut the water down, I’m walking around helping pull power cables out of the ground so they don’t get stuck in the mud.

Other attendees fully embraced the mud and even covered their bodies with it.

“This is the ultimate filter of beauty,” Dub Kitty told The Reno Gazette-Journal. “We’re trying to find my camp and magic along the way.”

A screenshot of a text message exchange triggered a flood of misinformation on social media regarding a supposed Ebola outbreak at Burning Man.

The conspiracies escalated when people on X, formerly Twitter, shared doctored headlines from Forbes and fake tweets from Burning Man organizers and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Experts and physicians emphasized how unlikely an Ebola outbreak would be.

People use plastic bags to cover their shoes as others are seen with their boots covered in mud at the site of the Burning Man festival (PAUL REDER/via REUTERS)

In a statement to Indy100, a BLM spokesperson debunked speculation about an Ebola outbreak.

“I can confirm the event entrance was closed for the year because unusual rainfall caused muddy conditions where there was a full stop on vehicles, and not for an ebola outbreak,” the spokesperson said.

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office confirmed a death at Burning Man to KNSD-TV on Saturday but offered few details. The identity of the person and the cause and manner of death have not been released.

The Independent has reached out to the law enforcement agency.

Meanwhile, weather conditions prevented cleaning staff from emptying thousands of portable toilets, according to The Guardian. No driving is allowed except for emergency vehicles.

Chris Rock shared a picture on Instagram of the muddy roads and a line of portable restrooms that had reportedly not been emptied.

“Also, from what I understand, because of the flooding, the port-a-potties reportedly can’t be emptied,” Mr Rock wrote. “And because the gates are closed, people can’t get in to fill generators or deliver supplies.”

While many shared their frustrations on social media, others kept a festive attitude and continued dancing and drinking. Burner Mike Jed told the Associated Press that he and others had made a bucket toilet so they didn’t have to trudge as often through the mud to reach portable toilets.

“If it really turns into a disaster, well, no one is going to have sympathy for us,” Mr Jed told the AP. “I mean, it’s Burning Man.”

Organizers said they didn’t know when the roads would “be dry enough for RVs or vehicles to navigate safely”.

If weather conditions improve, vehicles could potentially depart by late Monday.