There is No Way In and No Out After Storm Floods Burning Man Festival – 73,000 People TRAPPED IN MUD, Told to Conserve Water and Food

Burning Man attendees late Friday night were told to ‘shelter in place’ after a storm dumped torrential rain on the playa and turned it into a giant soupy mud pit.

Burning Man is a yearly music and art festival in Northern Nevada in Black Rock City.

An estimated 73,000 people are trapped after a monsoonal storm moved through Black Rock City.

Burning Man attendees referred to as ‘Burners’ prayed to the ‘playa gods’ to make it stop.

Burners were told to shelter in place and conserve water and food.

The gate&airport in and out of Black Rock City remain closed. Ingress&Egress are halted until further notice. No driving is permitted on playa with the exception of emergency vehicles. If you are in BRC,conserve food&water,shelter in a warm space. More updates to come. Stay safe!

— Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) September 2, 2023

The Gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City remain closed as of Saturday morning.

❣️The Gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City remain closed. Ingress and egress are halted for the time being, including Burner Express Air and Bus. No driving is permitted on playa except for emergency vehicles. If you are in BRC, please shelter in place and stay safe.

— Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) September 2, 2023

According to AccuWeather’s Saturday forecast, more rain is on the way to Black Rock City.

SF Gate reported:

Burning Man conditions are bordering on disaster with over 70,000 people trapped and sheltering-in-place after rains turned the playa into an undrivable mud pit.

On Friday night (Sep. 1), organizers were forced to shut down the festival’s gate and airport, halting access in and out of the playa. All scheduled burns for Friday night were canceled. As of 8 a.m. on Saturday (Sep. 2), the gate and airport remained closed and festival goers were being told to shelter-in-place. People are not being permitted to drive cars or bikes around the festival except for emergency vehicles. With rain in the forecast through Sunday (Sep. 3), Burners were being told to conserve resources.

“If you are in BRC, conserve food and water, shelter in a warm space,” warned festival organizers according to the Reno Gazette Journal. The news site reported that 73,000 people (a larger population than the city of Santa Cruz) are currently at the festival.

Radical self reliance is being put to the test at Burning Man as steady rain this afternoon turns the playa to mud.#BurningMan2023 pic.twitter.com/BIEsJHcqGX

— Chris Pietsch (@ChrisPietsch) September 2, 2023

#BurningMan2023 pic.twitter.com/c9KBuSooVT

— Nanceeee (@Nanceeee33) September 2, 2023