With 70K Stuck and One Dead at ‘Burning Man,’ Will Attendees Start Running out of Food and Water? – RedState

The modern version of “Burning Man” is a far cry from its hippie/art community beginnings. The first Burning Man was held in 1986 on Baker Beach in San Francisco. A couple of artsy guys, Larry Harvey and Jerry James, came up with a summer solstice celebration that concluded like the pagan rituals of old by burning something. They had to move it because, in 1986, burning effigies on a public beach wasn’t allowed. Now, of course, if the effigy was Trump or any Republican, California Governor Gavin Newsom would have likely sanctioned it and attended.

So Burning Man moved to the Nevada Black Rock Desert, and the once local event turned into an international “must-visit” destination. Billionaires and millionaires put it on their bucket lists, but theirs is a destination very different than that of the commoners and the unwashed masses. No, rich people might be in the same city and at the same “Burning Man,” but their experience is completely different. It’s like comparing the penthouse at the Bellagio to the outhouse at a 7/11.

The rich spend multiple thousands and bring in gourmet food and private chefs. They live in luxury conditions and travel in the same fashion. For the rich, it is like living in their penthouses, but they can say that they “roughed it” in the desert with the commoners.

The only thing in common between the former and the latter is that neither can “buy” anything of substance at Black Rock City. Attendees can purchase ice and coffee, and that’s it. Everything has to be brought in.

If you forget something, according to the Burning Man website, you best make friends with your neighbor. There are no “restaurants.” If you forget food and water, you had best leave the 70,000-person city. The city comes to life for a brief time and then disappears like the effigy that is burned at the end.

What happens if you have an emergency? According to the Black Rock City Emergency Services Department:

We are the stewards of public safety at Burning Man, providing fire safety services, medical care, communication platforms, and crisis intervention in Black Rock City.

Burning the Man- want a front-row seat?

Burning Man is a fascinating place and fun as hell but Murphy’s Law, right? Things can go terribly wrong and the Emergency Services Department (ESD) is on it, 24/7, to help. 

Yeah, OK – so what happens when a city of 70,000 with no roads, no infrastructure, no running water, no sewer system, and no real authority turns into a quagmire of mud? Things are an adventure for a day or two, but then they will start to deteriorate. It could go from cats and dogs living together to cats and dogs eating each other. But according to this guy – it’s time to party: 

Burning Man is flooded, but people are coming out on foot to party!#BurningMan #burningman2023 #drowningman pic.twitter.com/o5iEmhEMWr

— David Date (@SteelandFeels) September 3, 2023

And according to CNN:

Attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel after a rainstorm swamped the area, forcing officials to halt any entering or leaving of the festival.

“A little over 70,000 people,” remained stranded Saturday, Sgt. Nathan Carmichael, with the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, told CNN Sunday morning. Some people have left the site by walking out but “most of the RVs are stuck in place,” he said.

The fake city was swamped with three months of rain in a span of a day. Sunday saw even more rain and another “shelter in place” order. 

The “burning man” was supposed to go up in flames on Saturday. Instead, it’s the drowning man.

It’s a serious situation. One person has reportedly died. With people trying to exit on Sunday but unable to, there are going to be people running out of food and water. Maybe not 70,000, but enough people looking for an exit, if not a meal. 

Mark Zuckerberg would have tried to call in a helicopter, but right now, there’s nowhere to land. Meanwhile, thousands are just stuck. Literally, stuck in the mud. 

Murphy’s Law, right?