The organizers of Burning Man, the annual countercultural festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, opened the gates Monday afternoon to allow attendees to leave after an inch of rain over the weekend caused a muddy mess that had made travel out fraught with risk. There was a line of RVs and cars over a mile long as the exodus began, though many of the more than 70,000 festival goers opted to stay for the delayed ceremonial burning of "the Man" Monday night.
The inch of rain on Friday and Saturday was what the Black Rock Desert would typically get in two or three months. It turned the dried lake bed into a mire of sticky mud that trapped shoes and vehicles trying to leave. Festival organizers urged "burners" to shelter in place and conserve food and water, and many of them they did. Others left on foot or in busses or truck beds.
Some partygoers described a harrowing few days of muddy chaos while others said the mud added a memorable festive layer that epitomized Burning Man's ethos of radical communal self-sufficiency. One attendee in his 40s died, but Burning Man organizers said the death wasn't related to the weather. The festival will continue until a wooden temple structure is torched on Tuesday night.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
In the Spotlight Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro has been at odds with US forces
-
Music reviews: Ethel Cain, Amaarae, and The Black KeysFeature "Willoughby Tucker, I'll Always Love You," "Black Star," and "No Rain, No Flowers"
-
Film reviews: Highest 2 Lowest and WeaponsFeature A kidnapping threatens a mogul's legacy and a town spins into madness after 17 children disappear
-
Trump says Smithsonian too focused on slavery's illsSpeed Read The president would prefer the museum to highlight 'success,' 'brightness' and 'the future'
-
Trump to host Kennedy Honors for Kiss, StalloneSpeed Read Actor Sylvester Stallone and the glam-rock band Kiss were among those named as this year's inductees
-
White House seeks to bend Smithsonian to Trump's viewSpeed Read The Smithsonian Institution's 21 museums are under review to ensure their content aligns with the president's interpretation of American history
-
Charlamagne Tha God irks Trump with Epstein talkSpeed Read The radio host said the Jeffrey Epstein scandal could help 'traditional conservatives' take back the Republican Party
-
CBS cancels Colbert's 'Late Show'Speed Read 'The Late Show with Stephen Colbert' is ending next year
-
Shakespeare not an absent spouse, study proposesspeed read A letter fragment suggests that the Shakespeares lived together all along, says scholar Matthew Steggle
-
5 tips for decluttering to get you through spring cleaning and beyondThe Week Recommends Organizing your space does not have to be quite so stressful
-
10 upcoming albums to stream in the hazy springThe Week Recommends Ring in the end of the cold weather with some new music
