Mud Cake Man? Burning Man Participants Trapped in the Desert by Rain • Watts Up With That?

Essay by Eric Worrall

Remember back when climate change was going to cause eternal drought?

Burning Man Shut Down Due to Heavy Rain, Stranding Attendees

“Conserve food, water, and fuel, and shelter in a warm, safe space,” organizers say after a half-inch of rainfall turns the Nevada desert into a muddy mess

BY DANIEL KREPS
SEPTEMBER 2, 2023

A HALF-INCH OF rain has created chaos at this year’s Burning Man festival as thousands of stranded attendees have been told to shelter in place and conserve resources after the Nevada desert turned into a muddy mess.

As a result of the rainfall — with another quarter-inch downpour from thunderstorms expected through the weekend — the roads into and out of Black Rock City where the desert festival is held have been closed for the remainder of Burning Man, and area airports have also temporarily closed due to the wet weather conditions. Thousands of festivalgoers, essentially, are stuck there in the mud.

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Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/culture/culture-news/burning-man-shut-down-rain-stranded-attendees-1234817432/

Sorry I should have remembered. Eternal drought was yester-minute’s claim. Now climate change causes too much rain.

Climate jokes aside, the situation for trapped Burning Man participants could be about to become a lot more serious. According to Rolling Stone, more rain is forecast, including possible thunderstorms. I hope everyone gets out safely. There are vehicles which can handle a bit of desert mud, large float helicopters might be able to handle landing in the mud, perhaps providing someone pegs a tarpaulin down over the landing area, and four wheel drive vehicles driven by experienced drivers who know to partly deflate the tires when crossing difficult terrain might be able to handle the mud. Snow chains can also help with traction on mud.

Given the weather forecast, I hope the organisers are doing what they can to provide participants with an emergency evacuation, should that become necessary.

Burning Man featured a few days ago in WUWT, when tribal rangers smashed a green road block in the Nevada desert.