Thousands of people attending Burning Man in the Black Rock Desert were advised to “conserve food, water and fuel and take shelter in a warm, safe place” after extreme rains began flooding the region in northern Nevada.
On Saturday, the organizers informed the visitors of the festival x, formerly known as Twitter, “The gates and airport to and from Black Rock City remain closed. Entry and exit are stopped until further notice. No driving is allowed except for emergency vehicles.”
The statement added: “If you are in BRC, save food, water and fuel and take shelter in a warm, safe place.”
Later in the day, the festival organizers repeated the u another tweet, “Do not travel to Black Rock City! Access to the city is closed until the end of the event and you will be turned away.”
Diplo and Chris Rock are among some of the celebrities at the festival, as the 44-year-old DJ chirped, “We just walked 5 miles in the mud from Burning Man with Chris Rock and got picked up by a fan.” Diplo also shared a video of him and Rock, 58, riding in the back of a truck through the desert with several others.
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Burning Man first-timer Hannah Burhorn told CNN that the desert sand had turned into thick mud that was nearly impossible to walk through thanks to excessive rain.
“It’s inevitable at this point,” Burhorn said. “It’s in the bed of the truck, inside the truck. People have tried to cycle it and they get stuck because it’s ankle deep.”
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Heavy rain began to fall in the northern Nevada region where Burning Man is held on Friday. Showers and thunderstorms will continue to hit the Black Rock Desert through Sunday night with an 80 percent chance of rain, according to the National Weather Service forecast. However, the week-long festival is scheduled to end on Monday.
According to Travel Nevada, more than 70,000 people visit the weeklong festival each year. Formed after they arrive in the desert region, Black Rock City is a “temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance,” according to the Burning Man website.
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Source: HIS Education