Nevada (United States): At least one death has been so far confirmed and tens of thousands of people are still stranded after heavy rains put an end to the fun in Nevada's Burning Man festival in Black Rock City even as authorities launched probe to determine the cause of death.
Officials have closed the road in and out of the festival to all but emergency vehicles, and attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel, but some have chosen to hike to the nearest town.
The remote event site in northwest Nevada was hit with 2 to 3 months’ worth of rain in just 24 hours from Friday to Saturday morning, leaving thick and ankle-deep mud, according to CNN.
Videos on social media show "burners" struggling across the wet grey-brown site, with some using trash bags as boots while others were stuck in the thick mud.
"It was an incredibly harrowing six-mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out," lawyer Neal Katyal said on social media. "It is very slippery and the mud is like cement and sticks to your boots. No one should try this unless in good shape and part of a group. These are dangerous conditions to hike and will likely get worse."
"It was an incredibly harrowing six-mile hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud, but I got safely out," lawyer Neal Katyal said on social media.
"It is very slippery and the mud is like cement and sticks to your boots. No one should try this unless in good shape and part of a group. These are dangerous conditions to hike and will likely get worse."
"You can't really walk or drive," a young woman circus performer, said on TikTok. Internet service was either not available or patchy, she said.
"My boots are five inches, and the mud became five inches so I was kind of on stilts," Lee said, adding people were being told they may be stuck until Tuesday.
"We have enough tuna for a week so we're OK", Lee said.
BURNING MAN: Local authorities have declared the event a disaster. With 5,000 VCs and 65,000 registered Democrats trapped in Black Rock City, Biden is under pressure to declare the event a national disaster. pic.twitter.com/6krMiAeJFs— @amuse (@amuse) September 3, 2023
BURNING MAN: Local authorities have declared the event a disaster. With 5,000 VCs and 65,000 registered Democrats trapped in Black Rock City, Biden is under pressure to declare the event a national disaster. pic.twitter.com/6krMiAeJFs
A video posted on social media showed comedian Chris Rock hitching a ride in the back of a pickup truck after managing to leave.
Pershing County Sheriff's Sargent Nathan Carmichael told CNN the conditions are difficult.
The muck "seems to stick to people, stick to tires (and) makes it very, very difficult to move vehicles around," he said, adding that most RV motorhomes were stranded.
Organizers urged festivalgoers to "conserve food, water and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space," saying the "playa" — the huge open-air esplanade where the event unfolds — was impassable.
"Look out for your neighbours, introduce yourself," they added.
One attendee, known on the playa only as Dr T, told AFP he is planning to "just go with the flow, meet people and make the best out of this difficult situation."
The California surgeon said he was worried about missing patient appointments Tuesday, but that there was "nothing I can do about it right now."
"We have water, and we have hope and we take people [into] our camp when they need" it, he added.
Organisers announced the event's finale attraction — burning a structure known as "the Man" — was set to go ahead Sunday night, "weather permitting."
The nine-day festival, the burning of a towering sculpture called The Man, built anew each year, was scheduled to conclude on Monday but ended in hush after heavy rains and storm.
A White House official on Sunday afternoon said that President Joe Biden had been briefed on the situation and that administration officials were in touch with state and local officials.
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