Burning Man Festival Closes Gates as Tropical Storm Hilary Leaves Black Rock Desert in Flood

The Burning Man Festival could be on hold as Tropical Storm Hilary floods the Black Rock Desert, forcing organizers to close the gates.

Burning Man Festival on Hold

Tropical Storm Hilary might put an end to Burning Man, the celebration that Silicon Valley's elite adore.

Due to floods brought on by Tropical Storm Hilary's precipitation, Nevada's Black Rock Desert, where the event is held each year, had to seal its entrance.

Both event workers and attendees must wait until at least Wednesday at noon before accessing the festival grounds, according to the nonprofit organization that organizes the event, known as Burning Man Project.

Organizers are requesting that all early-arriving workers and campers postpone their travel because they have 1,500 staff members waiting on site for the surface to dry.

Even though the festival doesn't start until Sunday, August 27, visitors usually arrive at the desert location a week before to start setting up camp, but bad weather has left encampments flooded.

Temporary gate closures, according to a Burning Man spokesperson, are not unusual. In this instance, they are grateful that the rain fell early during setup and isn't having a significant impact on many people, and that their teams in Black Rock City are secure.

Pack your water wings!
by u/NocturnalNess in BurningMan

Spanning various locations across the globe, Burning Man constitutes a vibrant international collective comprising artists, craftsmen, and community influencers who adhere to the guiding 10 Principles.

The inception of Burning Man can be traced back to Black Rock City, the yearly festival held in the Black Rock Desert. An annual experiment in a transient town devoted to radical self-expression and self-reliance is called Black Rock City.

Burners in the Black Rock Desert

About 70,000 Burners attend the festival every year, and they bring their own food and make art projects in the desert. Leave no trace on the area of land used as the event's grounds is one of the event's guiding principles.

Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla, Sergey Brin, Larry Page, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and others have attended the event, which has seats starting at $2,750.

Even Elizabeth Holmes, the disgraced biotech entrepreneur, was in attendance; in 2018, she made headlines by publicly burning a Theranos effigy there.

The location for Black Rock City is set to be 120 miles north of Reno, Nevada, specifically situated in the Black Rock Desert. The custodians of this desert area encompass the communities of Empire and Gerlach, along with the Paiute Tribe, which holds a rich historical connection to this region.

Delayed Travel Due to Tropical Storm Hilary

More than 5,000 flights in the US experienced delays on Sunday, and over 1,000 flights had to be canceled due to adverse weather conditions caused by Tropical Storm Hilary. Southwest Airlines accounted for the majority of these cancellations, with a total of 714 flights canceled on that Sunday alone.

The ultra-rich needn't worry, though, as their private jet travel should bring them to the desert just in time. Some who intended on flying in for the event may also have delays, as Tropical Storm Hilary delayed the travel plans of hundreds trying to fly to southwestern states.