Burning Man attenders began their slow exodus from the campsite in the northern Nevada desert after muddy roads that left tens of thousands of partygoers stranded for days dried up enough to make travel possible.
Festival organisers said they started to let traffic flow out of the main road around 2pm local time on Monday – even as they continued to ask revelers to delay their exit to Tuesday to ease traffic. As of Monday afternoon, they said about 64,000 people remained at the festival site.
Organisers also requested that participants did not to walk out of the Black Rock desert as some others had done throughout the weekend.
The festival had been closed to vehicles after more than a half inch (1.3cm) of rain fell Friday, causing flooding and foot-deep mud.
The road closures came just before the first of two ceremonial fires signaling an end to the festival was scheduled to begin Saturday night. The event traditionally culminates with the burning of a large wooden effigy shaped like a man and a wood temple structure during the final two nights, but the fires were postponed as authorities worked to reopen exit routes by the end of the Labor Day weekend.
Weather permitting, “the Man” is scheduled to be torched at 9pm on Monday, while the temple is set to go up in flames at 8pm on Tuesday.
The National Weather Service said it would stay mostly clear and dry at the festival site, although some light rain showers could pass through Tuesday morning. The event began 27 August and had been scheduled to end Monday morning.
The annual gathering, which launched on a San Francisco beach in 1986, attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians and activists for a mix of wilderness camping and avant garde performances. Disruptions are part of the event’s recent history: dust storms forced organisers to temporarily close entrances to the festival in 2018, and the event was twice canceled altogether during the pandemic.
At least one fatality had been reported at this year’s event, but organisers said the death of a man in his 40s wasn’t weather-related. The sheriff of nearby Pershing County said he was investigating but has not identified the man or a cause of death.
The event is remote on the best of days and emphasises self-sufficiency. Amid the flooding, revelers were urged to conserve their food and water, and most remained hunkered down at the site.