Rain leaves Burning Man attendees stuck in the mud

The Burning Man festival received more than half an inch of rain—over two months’ worth of precipitation for the area—in just 24 hours on Friday. The festival, held in the Nevada Black Rock Desert, quickly became soggy with water and heavy mud. Authorities told more than 72,000 stranded attendees to conserve food, water, and fuel over the weekend after the ankle-deep mud made it nearly impossible for vehicles to drive out of the area.  Some attendees were beginning to leave Tuesday morning.

What is Burning Man? WORLD in 1999 described the Burning Man as “the hot new event of American paganism.” Burning Man continues as an annual, week-long revelry of art and music, culminating in the ceremonial burnings of “a large wooden effigy shaped like a man and a wooden temple structure” on the last two nights, according to the Associated Press. Attendees come prepared to deal with hot weather and a week of camping, although many were ill-prepared for the rain. 

Dig deeper: Read Bekah McCallum’s article in WORLD Magazine on understanding cult mentality.