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As thousands of people remain unable to leave the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert after heavy rains inundated their campsites with ankle-deep mud on Saturday, authorities say they are investigating a death at the event.
Attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel after a rainstorm swamped the area, forcing officials to halt any entering or leaving of the festival.
The remote area in northwest Nevada was hit with two to three months worth of rain – up to two centimetres – in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday mornings.
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The heavy rainfall fell on dry desert grounds, whipping up thick, clay-like mud that festivalgoers say is too difficult to walk or bike through.
"More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa," the Bureau of Land Management said in a statement obtained by the Reno Gazette Journal.
The Pershing County Sheriff's Office said it's investigating "a death which occurred during this rain event."
Authorities did not publicly name the person or provide details on the circumstances of the death.
"The family has been notified and the death is under investigation," the sheriff's office said in a late Saturday news release (Sunday AEST).
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Authorities have not provided information on when roads could reopen, but the sunshine is expected to return Monday after more showers Sunday.
"We do not currently have an estimated time for the roads to be dry enough for RVs or vehicles to navigate safely," Burning Man organisers said in a Saturday evening statement.
"Monday late in the day would be possible if weather conditions are in our favour. It could be sooner."
Organisers did note that the rain falling on an already saturated playa across the remainder of the weekend "will affect the amount of time it takes for the playa to dry".
For now, the gate and airport into Black Rock City remain closed and no driving is allowed into or out of the city except for emergency vehicles, the organisers said on social media.
Black Rock City is a temporary metropolis that is erected annually for the festival and comes complete with emergency, safety and sanitary infrastructure.
The rain "made it virtually impossible for motorised vehicles to traverse the playa," the Pershing County Sheriff's Office said, noting that people were advised to shelter in place until the ground has dried enough to drive on safely.
Vehicles trying to drive out will get stuck in the mud, Burning Man organisers warned on Saturday.
"It will hamper Exodus if we have cars stuck on roads in our camping areas, or on the Gate Road out of the city," the organisers added.
"If you are in BRC, please shelter in place & stay safe," organisers said.
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Difficult conditions, but some stay positive
Some festival-goers hiked kilometres on foot in the thick mud to reach main roads while others stayed at their camps, hoping for conditions to improve.
Hannah Burhorn, a first-time attendee at the US festival, told CNN in a phone interview Saturday the desert sand has turned into thick clay and puddles and mud are everywhere.
People are wrapping trash bags and Ziploc bags around their shoes to avoid getting stuck, while others are walking around barefoot.
"It's unavoidable at this point," she said.
"It's in the bed of the truck, inside the truck. People who have tried to bike through it and have gotten stuck because it's about ankle deep."
It's unclear exactly how many people are stranded at the festival, but typically more than 70,000 people attend the weeklong event. It's being held from August 28 to September 4 this year.
There weren't any reports of injuries as of Saturday afternoon, Sean Burke, the director of emergency management for Pershing County, told CNN.
Amar Singh Duggal and his friends managed to leave the festival after hiking about 2 kilometres in the mud, he told CNN.
He estimated it took them about 2 hours to get to a main road where they arranged to be picked up and taken to Reno, about a 193-kilometre drive from the event grounds.
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"We made it, but it was pure hell (walking) through the mud," Duggal said. "Each step felt like we were walking with two big cinderblocks on our feet."
Meanwhile, attendees who typically dedicate their time to making art and building community are now also focused on rationing supplies and dealing with connectivity issues.
"There is super limited bandwidth and a lot of people at the camp (are) trying to cancel flights and arrange for extended time here" due to the weather, Burhorn told CNN via text message from a Wi-Fi camp.
Still, the poor conditions have not stopped the creativity, said Burhorn, who had travelled from San Francisco.
"People are building mud sculptures," she said.
Andrew Hyde, another attendee stuck at the Burning Man, said that despite the muddy conditions making it difficult to walk, the weather has taken the meaning of the event back to its roots.
"You come out here to be in a harsh climate, and you prepare for that," Hyde told CNN's Paula Newton. "So in many ways, everybody here just kind of made friends with their neighbours and it's a community event."
Morale at the event is OK and there's generally no panic among the attendees, Hyde said, describing music returning overnight.
There are worries about the additional rain causing delays, however, and the unknowns of worsening conditions.
"I think the concern is if we have another rain," he said. "People need to go back to their jobs, back to the responsibilities they have back home."
Assistance brought in
Organisers announced Saturday night they'll be putting mobile phone trailers in different positions, configuring the organisation's Wi-Fi system for public access and deploying buses to nearby Gerlach to take people who might walk off the playa to Reno.
"This is not likely a 24-hour operation at this time," the festival said in a statement on its website.
Organisers are also resourcing four-wheel drive vehicles and all-terrain tires to help ferry medical and other urgent situations to the blacktop.
There have been people who managed to walk to a main road and were waiting for transport from the festival organisers on Saturday night, the Pershing County Sheriff's Office said.
Resources have been brought in from around northern Nevada to help people with medical needs on the event grounds, the sheriff's office said.
"Burning Man is a community of people who are prepared to support one another," Burning Man said on its website. "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," organisers added. "We are engaged full-time on all aspects of safety and looking ahead to our exodus as our next priority."
Burning Man participants dedicate their time to making art and building community.
They can learn how to spin fire, or to pole dance, to make shrink art jewellery or build a giant sculpture of two people embracing and burn it down.
Some on-site preparations for this year's Burning Man were impacted by tropical storm Hilary in August, with high winds, rainfall and even flooding reported in the desert, CNN reported.
Lack of reception leaves attendees unsure about upcoming conditions
Amber Kramer, a resident of Kings Beach, California, told CNN she's staying in an RV with her group and "feels fine as long as we have food and water".
"My camp and I are on the roof (of the RV) trying to make the best of it," Kramer said.
She said she's concerned for those staying in tents because the area is forecast to see more rain.
"People with RVs have been asked by camp leaders if they have room for people with tents because they are expecting another storm," she said.
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Kramer said she's seen many people trudging around the camp with garbage bags strapped to their feet with duct tape in order to maneuver through the mud.
Burhorn, who travelled from San Francisco, California, said the mud is so thick that it "sticks to your shoes and makes it almost like a boot around your boot," making it even more difficult to move around, she added.
She added she and her friends were not expecting any rain – only extreme heat.
Burhorn said people trapped in the desert have limited reception, making it almost impossible to get news on weather conditions or receive updates from festival organisers.
"It's all been completely word of mouth," she said. "I just talked to my boyfriend on the phone who gave me a weather update. I was like, 'can you tell me what's going on in the news? We have no clue.'"
The silver lining, Burhorn said, is people are walking from camp to camp to check on others and make sure they have enough food and water.
"People are still really looking out for each other, which is like a bubble of love."
