Burning Man revellers make mass exodus as police name dead festival goer

Burning Man festival goers have started exiting the site in huge numbers after wet conditions started to ease.

This weekend tens of thousands of fans were left stranded in the Nevada desert after rainfall created muddy conditions, which resulted in the shut down of the festival three days early. It was due to run from August 27 to September 4, 2023.

Attendees were told to stay in their camps and conserve food and water, with roads in and out of the event closed due to flooding.

Organisers finally allowed revelers to start leaving the site at midday (8pm BST) yesterday (September 4).

Thousands of Burning Man attendees are making their “exodus” as the counter-culture arts festival in the Nevada desert ends in a sea of drying mud instead of its famous party around a flaming effigy namesake | Read more: https://t.co/Sk4nlUzIxn pic.twitter.com/yZKHwm8205

— RTÉ News (@rtenews) September 5, 2023

“Please know that while conditions are improving and roads are drying, the playa is still muddy and may be difficult to navigate in some neighbourhoods and down certain streets,” organisers added.

Meanwhile, authorities have identified the person who died at the festival as 32-year-old Leon Reece.

The Pershing County sheriff’s office said it had received a call around 6.24pm (local time) on Friday (September 1) about an unresponsive man on the ground at Black Rock City.

Organisers also said the man’s death was unrelated to the weather, reports BBC News.

Local reports previously described the conditions at Burning Man as “treacherous” with “thick, slimy mud that clung to shoes and anything else it touched”. The disruptions have also led to suspensions of the cleaning and emptying of thousands of portable toilets.

Due to the extreme weather conditions, “burners” were told to “shelter in place” rather than attempt to escape the festival

Elsewhere, actor Chris Rock and Diplo escaped after they were picked up by a fan while exiting the festival.

Last week, a group of climate activists blocked the main road into the event which resulted in arrests.