MicroWaveSep 3, 2023

1 death reported at Burning Man while festival attendees remain stuck in the Nevada desert from heavy rains

https://lemmy.world/post/4368856

1 death reported at Burning Man while festival attendees remain stuck in the Nevada desert from heavy rains - Lemmy.world

As thousands of people remain unable to leave the Burning Man festival in the Nevada desert after heavy rains inundated their campsites with ankle-deep mud Saturday, authorities say they are investigating a death at the event. Attendees were told to shelter in place in the Black Rock Desert and conserve food, water and fuel after a rainstorm swamped the area, forcing officials to halt any entering or leaving of the festival. The remote area in northwest Nevada was hit with 2 to 3 months worth of rain – up to 0.8 inches – in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday mornings. The heavy rainfall fell on dry desert grounds, whipping up thick, clay-like mud that festivalgoers say is too difficult to walk or bike through.

Show threadFlying SquidSep 3, 2023
I hate to sound callous, but I don’t feel much sympathy for a rich person who went out to the desert to pretend to be a hippie and didn’t check the weather forecast.
Show threadFecundpossumSep 3, 2023

I used to run in a party crowd that had a LOT of burning man folks in it. There were a couple of them that had middle class incomes, maybe even leaning upper middle class. Those are usually the ones that had an art car or whatever that they sank some money into, instead of the crap that most upper middle class Americans blow their money on.

But the rest of them? They worked at restaurants, did massage therapy, teachers, etc. normal people with median or lower incomes that would forego other expenses to set aside a little a money for their annual get high in the desert trip.

Yes, there’s a bunch of elitists at the core of the event, but it’s not the majority.

Show threadFlying SquidSep 3, 2023
They still should have checked the weather report.
Show threadVery_Bad_JanetSep 3, 2023
Even if they had checked the weather, would they have known 0.8 inches of rainfall translates into being stranded in the desert and possible death? I've never been to BM or spent time in a desert so this is news to me. Were people warning about this and attendees just ignored it?
Show threadFlying Squid
Yes. You need to stay out of the desert if there is any rainfall. That is basic knowledge you should know before going out there.
Sep 3, 2023 at 11:39amWeb