Abandoned Vehicles Reportedly ‘Strewn for Miles’ as Burning Man Revelers Finally Able to Leave

An unexpected surge of rain that turned the desert grounds of Burning Man into a giant mud pit finally subsided to the point where the 70,000 attendees could exit on Monday, but reports indicate that not everyone who left the festival made it out with their vehicles.

The weeklong festival’s mass exodus led to, of course, a massive traffic jam as festival goers lined up to take their belated exit from the Black Rock Desert in Nevada. By Tuesday, the wait time had reduced to a mere two hours compared to the eight-plus hours from the day before, according to the SFIST.

According to Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen, there are “large amounts of property and trash strewn from the Festival into Reno and points beyond,” the San Francisco Chronicle reported. He said the festival typically leaves a fair amount of detritus littered across the desert, but it was more severe this year.

“This year is a little different in that there are numerous vehicles strewn all throughout the playa for several miles,” Allen told the news outlet. “Some participants were unwilling to wait or use the beaten path to attempt to leave the desert and have had to abandon their vehicles and personal property wherever their vehicle came to rest. The playa is unforgiving when it is wet and will consume your vehicle until such time as it dries enough to be able to traverse."

The Burning Man Project, the festival organizers, issued a “survival guide” over the weekend instructing “burners” (how attendees refer to each other) how to navigate the mud-drenched grounds and providing updates on the exit road status. Burners were told not to walk out of the festival grounds, but instead try to catch a ride from within Black Rock City.

“As usually happens in what burners refer to as the ‘default world’ people allow their emotions to override their reasonableness and they are lashing out at each other as they leave the playa and attempt to make it to their next destination,” Allen told the Chronicle. “This behavior definitely does not fall within the 10 principles of Burning Man, but that is not the fault of BMP either, but is a societal issue.”

The torrential downpour that stranded the thousands of burners in the desert led to at least one death, which law enforcement is investigating.