Burning Man attendees forced to walk for miles in the mud after sudden storm
Woman walks in the mud at Burning Man festival
Reuters
Burning Man attendees were left stranded in mud after torrential rain during an unexpected storm turned the Nevada desert sand into a quagmire.
Many people were forced to hike six miles in heavy mud to escape the venue with those remaining told to conserve food and water.
Event organisers were told to shelter in place during the storm but many of the 70,000 ‘Burners’ chose to ignore the orders.
Those choosing to leave ditched vehicles and personal belongings in the Black Rock City site.
Man walking in mud at Burning Man
Reuters
Officials revealed on Sunday that one death had been reported at the festival but that it was “unrelated to the weather”.
Pershing County Sheriff’s Office is investigating the death.
“There’s no cause for panic,” Marian Goodell, Burning Man’s CEO, told NBC.
“We’ve made it really clear that we do not see this as an evacuation situation.
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Woman lying in water
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“The water is drying up.”
According to Goodell, Burners refused help from the Nevada National Guard, instead choosing to tough it out in the mud.
Footage posted on social media shows DJ Diplo and comedian Chris Rock making the long hike before a kind passer-by offered to let them ride in the back of their pick-up truck.
One attendee, Neal Katyal, posted that he and a group of other attendees made the “incredibly harrowing 6-mike hike at midnight through heavy and slippery mud” on Sunday to escape.
Mud roads leading into Burning Man
Reuters
Woman walks in the mud
Reuters
Katyal said the mud beneath his feet was “like concrete” and warned that only those “in good shape and part of a group” should attempt the trek.
“Talk your friends out of the hike unless you really think they can do it safely,” he added.
“There are treacherous places where it is worse than walking on ice.”
Roads are expected to reopen soon for those still trapped in the desert.