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Burning Man festivalgoers experience travel headaches again due to rain

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Burning Man festivalgoers experience travel headaches again due to rain

Monsoon rains on Friday and over the weekend caused flash flooding at Burning Man, turning the usually dry, desert landscape of the festival grounds into a muddy mess. Sept. 4, 2023.

Rain around the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada is hampering travel plans for Burning Man Festival attendees on Saturday – the second year in a row weather has presented issues to the massive festival.

Burning Man officials tweeted Saturday morning that the Gate into Black Rock City, the temporary community created by festivalgoers in the desert, was closed because of the rain.

They asked travelers to postpone their journey to the festival until they announce that the Gate has been reopened, and to refrain from waiting on the side of the road until the announcement is made.

FILE: The Burning Man Festival Grounds in Black Rock City, Nevada, are covered in mud Sept. 2, 2023, after monsoon storms dumped more than a half-inch of rain. 

(Cindy McGill/Facebook / FOX Weather)

Attendees have also been asked to refrain from parking in the nearby communities of Wadsworth, Nixon, Empire and Gerlach out of respect for local residents. 

The weather has also hampered bus travel for event attendees. Burning Man officials announced Friday night that all buses departing San Francisco on Saturday would be delayed by at least two hours, due to the potential for overnight rains.  Buses departing from Reno, Nevada are also delayed. 

BURNING MAN ATTENDEES BEGIN EXOCUD OF FESTIVAL AFTER BEING TRAPPED BY FLOODING, MUD

“All Reno buses are being held until there is confidence we can drive on playa,” event officials tweeted.

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Last year, monsoon rains stranded more than 70,000 festivalgoers at the event. Heavy rain and flash floods produced muddy conditions in the usually dry, desert setting, and caused all weekend events to be canceled.

04 September 2023, USA, Black Rock: The undated image shows a rainbow seen over the muddy grounds of the

FILE: The undated image shows a rainbow seen over the muddy grounds of the “Burning Man” festival. 

(David Crane / picture alliance / Getty Images)

Once the rain passed and the ground dried out, the mass exodus of attendees created a travel nightmare involving a 5-hour delay between Black Rock City and Interstate 80.

The National Weather Service Reno said some isolated thunderstorms are possible Saturday afternoon. 

Burning Man 2024 is slated to officially begin on Sunday and run through Sept. 2.

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