Burning Man attendees share ordeal with urine bottles as clean-up begins after exodus – updates

Organisers have three weeks to clear the sprawling Nevada desert campsite

Burning Man festival-goer shows grim conditions after flooding chaos

The Burning Man exodus appears to have come to an end — paving the way for a massive clean-up job to begin.

Thousands of attendees cleared out from the Nevada desert campsite after being trapped for days when the festival descended into chaos with heavy rainfall, flooding and muddy conditions.

Organisers will now spend the next three weeks cleaning up the sprawling site to fulfil the festival’s key principle of “leave no trace”, after the area was left littered with abandoned vehicles, furniture and trash.

People who attended this year’s festival said they were instructed to urinate in bottles to conserve space in the porta-potties. In the aftermath of the rain trash was left everywhere, wrote Rob Price in Business Insider.

“The porta-potties were surrounded by a halo of shredded toilet paper that clung to shoes,” he added.

The end of the tumultuous exodus comes after officials revealed the suspected cause of death for the man who died during the event.

The man, identified as 32-year-old Leon Reece, was found unresponsive on the playa on Friday, with emergency responders unable to revive him.

Key points

• Burning Man death caused by suspected drug intoxication
• Festival-goers share heartbreak as desert venue is flooded by storm
• In pictures: Burners leave this year’s festival
• Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Burning Man disaster was an ‘act of God’
• What is Burning Man?

[7 September 2023 06:00 · Ariana Baio]

Ted Cruz tries to reclaim joke amid Burning Man chaos after he fell for shark hoax

After falling for the “Hurricane Shark” hoax during Tropical Storm Hilary, Ted Cruz wanted to let everyone know he was in on the joke this time.

The Texas senator, and prolific content creator, shared a doctored image on Tuesday purporting to show a shark on a flooded highway near the Burning Man festival on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Holy crap,” Mr Cruz wrote, along with a crossed fingers emoji, to indicate he was in on the ruse.

The shark meme, which began circulating in 2011, has become an infamous online prank well-known to most savvy social media users, but apparently not Mr Cruz.

Last month, after it was posted to X (formerly known as Twitter) during a tropical storm that unleashed widespread flooding in California, Mr Cruz reposted the picture and wrote: “Holy crap.”

After being mocked for falling for the scam, the senator added: “I’m told this is a joke. In LA, you never know... And everyone please stay safe from the storm or otherwise.”

[7 September 2023 08:00 · Ariana Baio]

Marjorie Taylor Greene claims Burning Man disaster was an ‘act of God’

Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that Burning Man revellers are being “brainwashed” into believing the washout has been caused by the climate crisis – which she claims was an act of God.

The Republican congresswoman and notorious conspiracy theorist joined fellow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his Info Wars show on Sunday night, where they both launched into their beliefs about the festival in the Nevada desert.

“There’s 73 to 75,000 in the Nevada desert right now at this Burning Man. They’re locked in,” the far-right lawmaker said.

Rachel Sharp reports:

[7 September 2023 10:00 · Ariana Baio]

In Photos: Burning Man 2023

Attendees dance during the annual Burning Man Festival in the early morning of September 5, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Attendees gather during the annual Burning Man Festival on September 4, 2023. Thousands of revelers stuck in the mud for days at the Burning Man festival in the US state of Nevada were told they could finally trek home on September 4, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

Attendees look at art cars during the annual Burning Man Festival on September 4, 2023 (AFP via Getty Images)

[7 September 2023 12:00 · Ariana Baio]

Princess Stephanie of Monaco’s daughter Pauline documents exit from Burning Man

Princess Stephanie of Monaco’s daughter, Pauline Ducruet, has shared her escape from Burning Man on social media.

The eldest daughter of the royal gave her followers a glimpse of her getaway from the muddy grounds of the annual arts festival in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada after organizers lifted the driving ban at 2pm on Monday.

Ducruet, 29, posted on her Instagram Story a photo of the Black Rock Desert range through a car windshield and the open route ahead, captioned, “We out.”

The Alter designer also posted a photo of herself among a group dressed up in festival-ready garments that appeared to be taken before rain stranded thousands of festival-goers. “When it was dry and fun,” Ducruet wrote over the photo on her Story.

[7 September 2023 13:00 · Ariana Baio]

Burning Man was an undeniable disaster. But these conspiracy theories aren’t part of it

As 70,000 Burning Man festival-goers were braving the elements, rumours of an Ebola outbreak reportedly sent panic through the desert city.

It was yet another wild conspiracy theory created by bad actors on Elon Musk’s X.

Bevan Hurley reports:

[7 September 2023 14:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Burning Man is ending, but the cleanup from heavy flooding is far from over

The rain has passed and the temple has burned. Now, as Burning Man slowly empties, it’s time to clean up.

Burning Man organisers have three weeks to clean up the sprawling stretch of public land in the Black Rock Desert of northwestern Nevada, but a summer storm that left tens of thousands stranded in ankle-deep mud could alter that timeframe.

One of the principles of Burning Man is to leave no trace — an expectation that all attendees will pack out everything they brought to Black Rock City and clean out their camps before leaving.

But in the aftermath of torrential rains that closed roads, jamming traffic, and forcing many to walk miles barefoot through the muck, the area is dotted with abandoned vehicles, rugs, furniture, tents and trash. The ground itself has deep imprints and ruts.

[7 September 2023 15:00 · Ariana Baio]

Why trash is a constant problem in Burning Man’s aftermath

Every year, after the nine-day Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert finishes, the grounds of Burning Man are littered with trash. This year is likely to be no different – only now, dried mud will likely make an appearance.

Here’s a peak into how the festival affects the area every year.

Gino Spocchia reported last year.

[7 September 2023 16:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Elon Musk calls Burning Man ‘best art on Earth’ amid festival chaos

Tech entrepreneur Elon Musk heaped hyerbole on this year’s Burning Man festival after the event descended into disaster, with one person dead and thousands left stranded in the Nevada desert after intense floods.

“Burning Man is unique in the world,” Mr Musk wrote on his platform X on Sunday.

“Hard to describe how incredible it is for those who have never been. Best art on Earth.”

Kelly Rissman has more.

[7 September 2023 17:00 · Joe Sommerlad]

Three-eyed ‘dinosaur shrimp’ are waking up after Burning Man washout

Yuck.

Triops and fairy shrimp are small crustaceans that can survive years lying dormant in drought conditions. They live in the ground in eggs until weather conditions such as floods can bring them to the surface, says IFL Science.

Nicknamed “dinosaur shrimp”, Triops are relatives of the oldest living creatures, Triops cancriformis, have two main eyes and a pit organ “third eye” that enables insects to detect changes in light and infrared waves.

Fairy shrimp have also resurfaced to join the mud party at Burning Man. Otherwise known as sea monkeys, they are translucent and are very good at withstanding salty environments.

Amelia Neath has more.

[7 September 2023 19:00 · Associated Press]

Burning Man organisers face clean-up deadline

The rain has passed, and the temple has burned. Now, as Burning Man slowly empties, it’s time to clean up.

Burning Man organizers have three weeks to clean up the sprawling stretch of public land in the Black Rock Desert of northwestern Nevada, but a summer storm that left tens of thousands stranded in ankle-deep mud could alter that timeframe.

One of the principles of Burning Man is to leave no trace — an expectation that all attendees will pack out everything they brought to Black Rock City and clean out their camps before leaving.

But in the aftermath of torrential rains that closed roads, jamming traffic, and forcing many to walk miles barefoot through the muck, the area is dotted with abandoned vehicles, rugs, furniture, tents and trash. The ground itself has deep imprints and ruts.