A tropical storm whipped up a muddy quagmire at the normally arid Black Rock City festival site, forcing ‘Burners’ to hunker down and ride out the conditions

Bevan Hurley reports:

Organisers urge for attendees to wait a day before leaving

“Although Exodus has officially begin, consider delaying your departure from Black Rock City until Tuesday 9/5 if you can. This will alleviate large amounts of Exodus congestion throughout the day today, Monday 9/4. Drive safely!” the Burning Man Traffic account posted on X.

According to the Burning Man’s survival guide, “As of midday Monday 9/4, approximately 64,000 people remain on site.”

The Black Rock City airport has been closed for days and reopened earlier Monday. Since all passengers flying out of the BRC airport will be taken to Reno, the survival guide noted that the Reno-Tahoe airport airport “does not have the space or facilities for travelers needing a place to stay for long periods of time while plans are sorted out.”

Three-eyed “dinosaur shrimp” are stirring in the Nevada desert after flooding upended the Burning Man festival.

Triops and fairy shrimp are small crustaceans that can survive years lying dormant in drought conditions. They live in the ground in eggs until weather conditions such as floods can bring them to the surface, says IFL Science.

Amelia Neath reports:

“Exodus operations have officially begun”

“Burners” unveil how they’re dealing with festival amid the mud and rain

As mud has taken over the festival’s desert landscape, attendees got creative.

So in true Burning Man spirit, some didn’t let a little bit of dirt get in the way of their partying.

Ariana Baio reports:

Black Rock City’s airport is back up and running

“Today all flights go to Reno,” the Burning Man Traffic’s X account said. The airport, which has a 6,000 foot runway, according to the festival’s website, is the “second busiest in Nevada during the eight days of operation.”

It had been closed for days due to weather but is now back up and running.

On Sunday (28 August), nearly half a dozen protestors from the climate activist group Seven Circles stood in the middle of the road used to enter the desert venue. Others chained themselves to a trailer parked on the road.

Surrounded by signs and banners that read “Burners of the World, Unite!”, “Abolish Capitalism” and “General Strike for Climate”, the group said their protests were designed to draw attention to “capitalism’s inability to address climate’s ecological breakdown”, according to the New York Post.

They added that their protests were aimed at the “popularisation of Burning Man among affluent people who do not live the stated values of Burning Man, resulting in the commodification of the event.”

Seven Circles argued that the event’s goal of becoming carbon-negative by 2030 is “insufficient to tackle the pressing crisis”.

Organisers at Burning Man said they are scheduling the man burn for 9pm local time on Monday.

Due to wet conditions, caused by scattered rainstorms on Sunday, the annual burning of the man could not occur. Instead, attendees can expect to the burn to happen tonight.