Burning Man Gets Washed Out

 

Photo: Trevor Hughes / USA Today Network

Who didn't see this coming. About 8 days ago, Hurricane Hillary hit the Los Angeles area which caused a lot of rain and flooding. It turned into a tropical storm system as it slooowly moved out of the area and towards Nevada where it impacted and changed the weather. Forecasters were sounding the alarm of potential record setting rain and flooding for the area where Burning Man is held, from August 27 - September 4. Do you think festival organizers and attendees cared? NOPE.

For the past few days, images have been shown revelers stuck in downpours and mud. People were told to ration water, food, and fuel because the roads became impassable unless you had a heavy duty 4-wheel drive vehicle. According to reports, up to 70,000 attendees are stuck with the only way to get out is to walk. And walking is what some celebs did. Diplo posted videos of he and Chris Rock walking 6 miles until they were spotted by a fan who picked them up and took them to a nearby airport.  

As expected, social media is having a field day with the Flooding Man Burning Man debacle. Below are a few comments:

Bess Kalb (@bessbell). September 3, 2023: "All those Tarot cards and not one person at Burning Man saw this coming."

Sam Morril (@sammorril) September 3, 2023: "Being trapped at Burning Man seems almost as bad as being trapped in a conversation with someone who went to Burning Man."

 

Photo: Brad Loekle (@bradloekle)

Festival organizers said,“Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another. We have come here knowing this is a place where we bring everything we need to survive. It is because of this that we are all well-prepared for a weather event like this. We have done table-top drills for events like this. We are engaged full-time on all aspects of safety and looking ahead to our Exodus as our next priority.”  Um, okay. *insert eye roll*

The main roads in & out of the area are expected to be open on Monday, if the weather cooperates. Fingers crossed because attendees are complaining of only having cans of tuna and vegetables to eat. At least it's better than the Fyre Festival cheese sandwich. 

 

Source: NBC News; Insider; CNN; USA Today; Twitter (X)