Burning Man: Police investigating death during heavy rain

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By David Willis & Kathryn Armstrong

BBC News, Burning Man in Nevada & London

An investigation has been launched into the death of a person during torrential rain at the Burning Man festival in the US state of Nevada.

Thousands of people remain stranded at the event after the bad weather turned the ground to deep, slippery mud.

Revellers have been told to shelter in place and conserve their food, while roads in and out of the event are closed as vehicles can barely move.

Burning Man is held in the Black Rock Desert, which is usually dry and dusty.

In a statement on Saturday, the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said it is “currently investigating a death which occurred during this rain event” but did not give any further details on the circumstances. The person’s family had been notified, the statement added.

The unusual rainstorms came towards the end of the nine day festival, when the biggest crowds arrive to see the grand finale – the burning of the giant wooden man.

The worst of the rain has now passed, according to BBC Weather, but there is still a risk of some further showers and thunderstorms.

It could be several days before the ground dries up enough for people to leave and for this reason, they have been told to conserve their food, water and fuel.

The festival’s toilets are also out of use, revellers say, because the service vehicles cannot drive on the mud to empty them.

The sheriff’s office said that some people had tried to drive out of the festival, but these attempts had made the muddy ground even worse.

Festival-goers told the BBC they watched on as some people tried to drive away – but they quickly became bogged in the thick clay-like mud.

More than 70,000 people had arrived at the site before it was closed on Saturday but the exact number of those still there is unclear.

Some have managed to leave the site, however. American DJ Diplo wrote on X, formerly Twitter, that he and comedian Chris Rock walked 5miles (8km) to a road, where they were given a lift by fans.

Others have also had to rely on strangers. Ashley Smith, who lives in London, said he had to get out in order to make it back to the UK for work on Monday.

Mr Smith told the BBC that he and his friends, who were running out of supplies, left a lot of their gear and walked to the road, where they managed to catch lifts with people all the way back to San Francisco. The whole journey took them 14 hours.

The event’s organisers have arranged for buses to pick people up from the road and take them to the city of Reno, more than 100 miles away.

A woman walks through mud using a bin bag at Burning Man in Nevada

The annual nine-day festival is one of America’s most well-known arts and culture events. Visitors create a temporary city in the middle of the desert, and are expected to be largely self-sufficient while they are there.

“We have come here knowing this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive,” said Burning Man in a statement.

“It is because of this that we are all well-prepared for a weather event like this.”

But the rain has dampened the spirits of some.

“For me and my husband this is an escape from hard things and this is kinda hard. So I am sad,” Chelsea Gold told the BBC.

Burning Man usually features giant interactive art installations and a huge wooden man that is burnt at the end of the nine days – but many of the events have been called off.

Nonetheless, many were trying to make the best of the situation, dancing in the mud to techno music.

“We’re taking it as an opportunity to hang out and spend more time with our new friends and old friends in the camp,” another reveller, Josiah Roe said.