Not merely a dated punchline, Burning Man remains a music festival! Every year, Silicon Valley elites still gather in Nevada's Black Rock Desert to do some major tripping while vibing to tunes and eschewing the trappings of civilization. However, a major wrench has been thrown into this year's edition courtesy of Tropical Storm Hilary.
The festival doesn't start until Sunday (August 27), but attendees — Burners, as they're called — typically tend to make their pilgrimage to the desert a week beforehand to begin the process of setting up camp.
Organizers were forced to close the gate to the grounds this past Sunday (August 20) after rain from the storm caused extremely muddy conditions. While they were looking to re-open as early as yesterday (August 21), the Twitter account dedicated to Burning Man traffic has since updated both festivalgoers and staff that it will remain closed until 12 p.m. PT on Wednesday (August 23).
The Burning Man subreddit has likewise been flooded with photos from the encampments from those who made it out onto the playa before the gate closed. As you'll see below, they show the extremely wet conditions in the literal desert — but a representative for the nonprofit-organized fest told Insider that "temporary gate closures are not abnormal." They added, "In this case, we're thankful the rain took place early during setup and isn't affecting too many folks."
Having started out as a hurricane on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, Hilary has since become the first tropical storm to hit Nevada's Southern Californian neighbours in over 84 years, according to the Associated Press. Making its way north, its remnants are expected to hit Western Canada this week [via CTV News].
The festival doesn't start until Sunday (August 27), but attendees — Burners, as they're called — typically tend to make their pilgrimage to the desert a week beforehand to begin the process of setting up camp.
Organizers were forced to close the gate to the grounds this past Sunday (August 20) after rain from the storm caused extremely muddy conditions. While they were looking to re-open as early as yesterday (August 21), the Twitter account dedicated to Burning Man traffic has since updated both festivalgoers and staff that it will remain closed until 12 p.m. PT on Wednesday (August 23).
The gate will remain closed until noon PT Wednesday 8/23. If you were planning to travel to BRC with a Work Access Pass before then, delay your plans.
— Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) August 22, 2023
DO NOT drive to Gerlach, you will be turned around — there are no rooms available.
We will post additional updates here.
The Burning Man subreddit has likewise been flooded with photos from the encampments from those who made it out onto the playa before the gate closed. As you'll see below, they show the extremely wet conditions in the literal desert — but a representative for the nonprofit-organized fest told Insider that "temporary gate closures are not abnormal." They added, "In this case, we're thankful the rain took place early during setup and isn't affecting too many folks."
We finally got a Lazy River on the playa!
by u/Highway_27 in BurningMan
Current conditions 🦐
by u/mastersmash56 in BurningMan
Buddy on site said Hillary brought back the lake!
by u/tuesdayinspanish in BurningMan
Having started out as a hurricane on Mexico's Baja California Peninsula, Hilary has since become the first tropical storm to hit Nevada's Southern Californian neighbours in over 84 years, according to the Associated Press. Making its way north, its remnants are expected to hit Western Canada this week [via CTV News].
