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Death At Rain-Soaked Burning Man Festival

By Stefan J. Bos, Chief International Correspondent Worthy News

BLACK ROCK CITY, USA (Worthy News) – U.S. authorities have opened an investigation into a death at the annual Burning Man festival after extreme rainfall in the northern part of Nevada state stranded tens of thousands of revelers.

“As this death is still under investigation, there is no further information available at this time,” added the local Pershing County Sheriff in published remarks.

The announcement came after access to and from Black Rock City, the event’s site was closed “for the remainder of the event,” organizers said. Yet celebrities still found a way out, including actor and comedian Chris Rock, who left fan crowds behind.

He reportedly walked eight kilometers (five miles) with DJ Diplo before hitching a ride with a fellow festival-goer in a pickup truck, rushing to safety, leaving their fans behind.

Over 70,000 people were believed to be stuck in the area of the Nevada desert, where, at one point, a rainbow emerged over the muddy campgrounds.

Organizers asked people to shelter in place and conserve food and water on Saturday after a rainstorm turned the site into mud.

“Rain over the last 24 hours has created a situation that required a full stop of vehicle movement on the playa,” said the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, which manages the festival’s land. “More rain is expected over the next few days, and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa.”

SURROUNDED BY MUD

But the CEO of Burning Man Project, Marian Goodell, told reporters, “There is no cause for panic.” And, “We’re very pleased and surprised that there has been such a fuss over us,” she said.

Thick, pasty mud surrounded Paul Reder’s trailer as scattered patches of blue tried to break through the gray cloud cover above him.

“Fortunately, we’re in a fairly big camp with a lot of supplies,” Reder told Reuters news agency in a video call. “As a community, everybody’s sharing with each other.”

The festival gets its name from its culminating event, the burning of a large wooden structure called the Man on the penultimate night.

The gathering, which originated as a small gathering in 1986 on a San Francisco beach, is now also attended by celebrities and social media influencers. It was scheduled to run from August 27 until September 4.

The event has been held since 1991 at Black Rock City in northwestern Nevada, a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert about 100 miles (160 kilometers) north-northeast of Reno city.