CNN
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Roads The Burning Man festival could reopen Monday for tens of thousands of people stuck in the Nevada desert for a third day, after heavy rain covered the grounds in ankle-deep mud and forced organizers to impose shelters for the drive. Place orders.
Roads in and out of the Black Rock Desert event grounds were closed Saturday, and participants were told to conserve food, water and fuel because the flooding made it “almost impossible” for vehicles to drive on the surface, officials said.
The week-long festival is scheduled to end on Monday, but it is unclear when participants will be allowed to leave the area. The organizers were expected to announce the road Plans to reopen Monday morning.
“Despite the afternoon drizzle, conditions are improving on the playa,” Burning Man organizers said Sunday night. “Roads in Black Rock City are too wet and muddy to officially open for Exodus on Sunday 9/3.”
Clear skies were expected to return on Monday, and Burning Man organizers said they “expect to start the exodus on Monday morning 9/4 until conditions improve”.
Some managed to get out of the site on foot through the thick mud, but “most of the RVs were stuck in place,” Pershing County Sheriff’s Office Sgt. Nathan Carmichael told CNN Sunday morning.
“Every step felt like we were walking with two huge cinder blocks on our feet,” said Amar Singh Dugal, who walked about 2 miles through the mud before leaving the festival with his friends.
DJ Diplo was among those left miles from the festival covered in mud, and later had to get in the back of a pickup truck with comedian Chris Rock, the DJ revealed on Instagram.
According to a Sunday night update from Burning Man organizers, about 72,000 people are on site.
The burning of the man – set on fire at the height of the festival – will now take place on Monday instead of Sunday night due to bad weather. Organizers made the announcement on Sunday evening.
A remote area in northwestern Nevada received 2 to 3 months’ worth of rain — up to 0.8 inches — in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday morning.
Heavy rains hit the parched desert lands, churning up thick, clay-like mud that some festival-goers say is so thick. DHey had to tie bags to their feet to walk through it.
Burning Man organizers said Sunday night that one death at the festival earlier in the weekend was “unrelated to the weather.” Emergency crews responded to a call for service Friday about a man in his 40s but were unable to revive him, organizers said, without providing further details.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office previously said it was investigating the death.
The sheriff’s office said resources were brought in from around northern Nevada to help those with medical needs at the event grounds.
Organizers also gained more Four-wheel-drive vehicles and all-terrain tires help transport people Medical and other emergency situations.
Black Rock City, a temporary metropolis erected annually for the festival, comes complete with emergency, security and health infrastructure.
“We have done table-top exercises for such events,” festival organizers said. “We are fully engaged in all aspects of security and look forward to Exodus as our next priority.”
Instead of grappling with the intense heat of the Nevada desert, carnivals are battling rain and mud, dealing with ration distribution and connectivity issues.
As roads in and out are closed, attendees are stepping up and offering food and shelter to those in need, festival goer Gillian Bergeron told CNN Sunday.
“Most of the people out there go out fairly regularly, and they certainly did a good job of it,” Bergeron said. “It’s a great community, people helping each other with food and water and shelter. If anything, I think that might have strengthened the core community.
Another participant caught up in Burning Man, Andrew Hyde, said the weather took the event’s meaning back to its roots.
“You come here to be in extreme weather, and you prepare for it,” Hyde told CNN’s Paula Newton on Saturday.
Burning Man also described heightened morale among participants sharing resources. “Playing music, sharing camp meals, socializing and walking around the playa to look at art and connect as a community,” organizers said in a Sunday night update.
However, there are concerns about when the roads will reopen.
“People need to get back to their jobs, get back to their responsibilities back home,” Hyde said.
Bergeron also found people worried.
“Certainly some were completely beside themselves They asked if their tickets would be refunded… they missed their flights,” he said. “It depends on their experience level, their comfort level there and then where they have to be on Monday or Tuesday morning.”
However, the poor conditions didn’t stop the creativity, Hannah Burhorn, who attended the festival for the first time, told CNN.
“People are making clay sculptures,” he said Saturday evening.
