Burning Man Flooded: Attendees Battle Mudstorm to Escape Doomed Festival

Chaos reigns at Burn­ing Man as tor­ren­tial rains trans­form the desert into a treach­er­ous quag­mire, strand­ing thou­sands. One death occurs as atten­dees scram­ble for high­er ground. Ordered to shel­ter, then told to flee, many now face a har­row­ing sur­vival ordeal.

Mired in thick­en­ing muck, Burn­ers endure soaked tents and vehi­cles stuck fast in the ooz­ing mire. Sup­plies dwin­dle while rain con­tin­ues, rais­ing risks of ill­ness from dysen­tery to COVID. Portable toi­lets over­flow, con­t­a­m­i­nat­ing the fetid fray.

Doc­tors warn that wors­en­ing con­di­tions may spark “des­per­a­tion” if the down­pour denies exit. But roads remain impas­si­ble. Strand­ed with­out ser­vices like cell phones, how long before the mud­slide traps become unsafe?

Those who escape endure an ardu­ous slog, wad­ing waist-deep in sludge. Come­di­an Chris Rock and DJ Dip­lo march 6 kilo­me­ters of muck to hitch a pre­car­i­ous res­cue ride. As at Fyre Fes­ti­val, did Moth­er Nature doom anoth­er hype event to hilar­i­ous hip­ster hell?

With Exo­dus impos­si­ble, the quag­mire quar­an­tines thou­sands overnight. But Mon­day’s pack-out seems improb­a­ble if skies stay stormy. Stuck fast in a fecal petri dish with flu­id facil­i­ties, how many more will face the mis­for­tune of this ill-fat­ed fiasco?