In pics | 70,000 Burning Man revelers stuck in Nevada desert after rainstorm and mud

As many as 73,000 people attending the annual Burning Man festival were stranded in mud after a severe rainstorm, on Saturday (September 2), reported the local media citing officials.

Authorities in the US state of Nevada, on Sunday (September 3) said that they are also investigating one death reported among the festival revellers also known as "burners" who gathered in Black Rock City.

In a statement, late Saturday, the Sheriff's Office in Pershing County in northern Nevada, said that they are looking into "a death which occurred during this rain event".

However, did not provide details about the cause of death or the person's identity.

"The family has been notified and the death is under investigation," said the sheriff's office, as quoted by Reuters. 

The Burning Man festival organisers took to X, formerly known as Twitter, and said, "Do not travel to Black Rock City!" referring to the desert area where the alternative culture festival takes place.

They added, that access to and from Black Rock City which is some 180 kilometres north of the city of Reno was closed "for the remainder of the event."

Additionally, Washoe County Sheriff's Office, as per Reuters, said that the entrance to Burning Man had been closed due to flooding and anyone trying to get in "will be turned away."

According to the festival's website, hundreds of thousands of people travel to and from the remote area in Nevada every year and gather in a temporary city to make art, dance, and enjoy community at a cost of $575 per person for a regular ticket. 

The counter-culture festival is supposed to run from August 27 to September 4 and will continue with limitations if the weather permits, said the organisers online.

The gathering gets its name from the event it culminates in by the end of the week which is the burning of a large wooden structure called the Man on the penultimate night. Despite the mud and rainstorm, Burning Man festival organisers said that they would attempt the fire on Sunday night.

The gathering began as a small event back in 1986 on a beach in the city of San Francisco and is now attended by celebrities and social media influencers.

A report by Reuters citing videos on social media said festival-goers were seen wading in ankle-deep thick mud. Notably, the location for this year is in Nevada's Black Rock Desert, a large, flat, ancient lake bed known as a playa.

The organisers urged those already at the site to "conserve food, water and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space." They said that it was unlikely that the rain would stop until Sunday night.

Due to heavy rains, the "playa," where the festival unfolds was inaccessible. The organisers said on the website that only four-wheel drive vehicles which had all-terrain tires were able to move.

However, in a statement on Saturday, the US Bureau of Land Management which manages the land on which the event takes place said, "Rain over the last 24 hours has created a situation that required a full stop of vehicle movement on the playa."

US land management agency as well as the weather service have predicted more rains in the upcoming days.

"More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa," said the US Bureau of Land Management, as quoted by Reuters.

Meanwhile, National Weather Service, on Sunday said that the area can expect scattered and sometimes heavy rain showers through the afternoon and overnight. 

Image shows a Burning Man attendee lying down in the mud and water during the event in Nevada desert, on September 2, 2023.

Organisers said that if necessary, it was possible to walk eight km through the mud to reach the nearest road where they would provide buses during daylight hours for people to go to Reno as people were advised not to walk at night.

In order to facilitate access to communication networks, the organisers said they were deploying mobile cellphone towers and opening the site's wifi to the public. "We have done table-top drills for events like this," they said. 

It was not immediately known how many people had decided to leave the venue. Attendee Paul Reder (not in the image) told Reuters on Sunday (September 3) that he knew of a few who had trudged out to the highway or defied officials and driven out.

However, those who stayed back were helping each other out by sharing food and water, said Reder. "Everyone here seems in really good spirits," Reder, who has been going to the event for 22 years told Reuters.

He added, "There's a general sense that this is going to end soon, the gates will open and we'll all be on our way home."