Thousands of participants face mud in ‘exodus’ after isolation at Burning Man festival

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Event organizers opened roads this Monday (4). Rain caused mud that isolated about 70 thousand people in the region. Vehicles leave the Burning Man festival, in the United States, after rains isolate the place Matt Mills McKnight/Reuters Thousands of Burning Man participants began their “exodus” this Monday (4), in the United States, while the arts festival of counterculture in the Nevada desert ends the 2023 edition in a sea of ​​mud. The weekend’s rain turned the previously compact soil into a quagmire. One person died at the event in the Black Rock Desert, officials said on Sunday, without elaborating, and an investigation has been opened. DJ Diplo and comedian Chris Rock managed to escape isolation on Saturday thanks to a ride in the back of a fan’s pickup truck. Organizers posted online that they expected to formally allow vehicles to leave at midday local time on Monday, but some participants told Reuters news agency a steady stream of vehicles had left since dawn. According to the American news broadcaster CNN, the roads were opened by the organizers. The exit goes through an 8 km unpaved dirt road to the nearest highway. Photos shared on websites showed hefty recreational vehicles mired up to their tire rims in mud, and some had boards under their wheels in an attempt to gain traction. The festival is located around 15 miles from the nearest town and over 170 miles north of Rhine. Organizers asked those who could to postpone the departure until Tuesday morning to reduce traffic. For days, around 70,000 people were forced to stay where they were and conserve food and water, while authorities closed roads and exits, ordering all vehicles to remain stopped. But forecasters for the National Weather Service said on Monday the rain had passed. Some of the festival-goers ignored orders to remain stationary for the weekend and tried to walk or drive to the highway. Others continued the party even in the rain. Videos posted on social media showed costumed revelers – including some children – sliding through the sticky mud, most of them covered from head to toe in wet earth. Every year, Burning Man draws tens of thousands of people to the Nevada desert to dance, make art and enjoy the act of being part of a temporary, self-sufficient community of like-minded spirits. This year’s version opened on Aug. 27 and was scheduled to run until Monday. The festival originated in 1986 as a small gathering on a beach in San Francisco, California, and is now frequented by celebrities and social media influencers. A regular ticket costs US$ 575. Usually the penultimate night is dedicated to a farewell, with the burning of a giant effigy of a man, accompanied by a fireworks show, which did not happen this year. The organizers stated, however, that this could still happen on Monday night.

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