Update (1925ET):
On Sunday evening, a White House official said President Biden was briefed on the situation at the Burning Man festival located in one of the harshest environments on Earth.
As of Sunday evening, 73,000 attendees are still trapped in the toxic desert full of alkaline mud after a rainstorm transformed the dried-out lake bed into a swamp. Event organizers said, “The Gate remains closed. Please stay off of Gate Road — rain and mud make it impassable at the moment. We will update you when conditions improve. Stay safe!”
It’s a muddy hellhole.
Burning Man festival gets hit with torrential rainfall. they have blocked the entrance and the exits everyone’s supposed to shelter in place. they can’t make it in with fuel for all the generators. There’s 6 inches of mud everywhere and they’re expecting more rain tonight. pic.twitter.com/NYW6xTaiYv
— Todd Paron
(@tparon) September 3, 2023
* * *
Food and fuel are running low for the tens of thousands of attendees (and tech bros) trapped at the Burning Man festival located in one of the harshest environments on earth (high desert, on a dried-up alkaline lake bed) in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. The situation deteriorated early Saturday when a rainstorm drenched the lake bed, transforming the area into a ‘mudpocalypse.’
Since early Saturday, all entry and exit points of the Burning Man festival remained closed due to the thick, alkaline mud. As of 0900 ET Sunday, event organizers said, “The gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City remain closed. Ingress and egress are halted until further notice. No driving is permitted except emergency vehicles.”
Organizers continued to advise the 73,000 attendees to “conserve food and water, and shelter in a warm space.”
The Independent confirmed local officials had reported at least one death but have not released details on the suspected cause of death. A major concern is that the toxic alkali dust that makes up the lake bed is now three inches of mud, and if attendees aren’t wearing socks and closed shoes, it can cause chemical burns called “Playa Foot.”
Mudpocalyptic at Burning Man!
A challenging situation unfolds as the desert festival site turns into a sea of mud due to unexpected rain, leaving Burning Man attendees trapped. Stay safe, resilient, and support one another, Burners!
#BurningMan #RainyDesert… pic.twitter.com/QCVPCeFg3D
— FlashFactsHub (@FlashFactsHub) September 3, 2023
BREAKING: More than 73,000 people are trapped in mud at Burning Man in Nevada due to major flooding pic.twitter.com/t7asFadYnK
— Everything you need to know (@Everything65687) September 3, 2023
Not everyone's feeling sorry for all the rich folk stuck in the mud at Burning Man [via @YahooNews] https://t.co/zZi3Cu9ONM pic.twitter.com/9CQsTlSIfN
— Ńasser 1⃣ Million Tweets
(@nasser_mo3gza) September 3, 2023
And who attends this drug-infested event? The rich tech bros.
… rich white tech bros.
Surely, these ‘informed’ folks who are now stuck in a swamped toxic lake bed understood it was an El Nino year…
Probably not. They were fixated on the corporate media headlines hyping a non-existent climate crisis (well, that’s according to these 1,600 scientists).
This post was originally published at Zero Hedge