US: Burning Man festival organisers lift driving ban, allowing thousands to escape muddy trap

Reno (Nevada) [US]: Thousands of people have started their journeys to get out of the Burning Man festival grounds as the event organisers officially lifted a driving ban, CNN reported on Monday.

The Burning Man Festival is a week-long large-scale desert campout focused on community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance held annually in the western United States.

The America-based media outlet reported that hundreds of trucks, RVs and other vehicles were seen leaving the festival site after the heavy rains trapped tens of thousands of people in the makeshift city and surrounded them with ankle-deep mud too thick to drive in.

Event organisers on Monday afternoon said “Exodus operations have officially begun in Black Rock City,” the city that’s erected annually for the event.

According to CNN, the event organisers said there were 72,000 people on site and by midday Monday, roughly 64,000 people remained.

Thousands of people are trapped on site after heavy rains inundated the area and created thick, ankle-deep mud that sticks to campers’ shoes and vehicle tires, the US media outlet said.

The sheriff’s office said it is investigating “a death which occurred during this rain event.” Authorities did not publicly name the person or provide details on the circumstances of the death.

On Sunday morning, event organisers stated that roads remained closed because they were “too wet and muddy,” and that more uncertain weather was expected. While some vehicles were able to leave, others became trapped in the mud, according to event organisers on the event’s website.

“Please do NOT drive at this time,” they added. “We will update you on the driving ban after this weather front has left the area,” as reported by CNN.

A remote area in northwest Nevada received 2 to 3 months’ worth of rain – up to 0.8 inches – in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday morning. The torrential rainfall whipped up thick, clay-like mud that festivalgoers reported was too tough to walk or bike through.

“The family has been notified and the death is under investigation,” the sheriff’s office said in a late Saturday news release.

Event organisers said that if the weather permits, they intend to burn the Man – the huge totem set on fire at the festival’s conclusion – on Sunday night.

The burning, however, was rescheduled until Monday night “due to rain and muddy conditions Sunday, as well as an inability to move heavy equipment and fire safety on site,” according to organisers.