Reuters
Burning Man, the festival beloved by Silicon Valley's elite, is at risk of quenched by Tropical Storm Hilary.
Nevada's Black Rock Desert, where the event takes place each year, closed its gate due to flooding caused by the rains of Tropical Storm Hilary, The San Francisco Standard reported.
Burning Man Project, the nonprofit organization that runs the gathering, has requested that both event staff and attendees hold off from entering the festival grounds until at least Wednesday at noon.
"We have 1,500 staff onsite waiting for the surface to dry, and we are asking all early arrival workers and campers to delay their travel," the organization said in a statement to Insider.
"DO NOT drive to Gerlach, you will be turned around — there are no rooms available," the group posted on X.
Burners, as attendees are called, shared photos of the flooded grounds on Monday morning, and the Burning Man traffic account posted travel warnings.
Major rain on the playa stopped at 10am. Only a few light and scattered showers since then. Large amounts of the playa remain either covered in standing water or damp & impassable, but strong winds are helping to disperse & dry up the standing water. More info to come—stay safe!
— Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) August 21, 2023
While the festival doesn't kick off until Sunday August 27, attendees typically travel to the desert venue a week prior to begin building their camps, but weather conditions have left encampments water-logged, as seen in images on Reddit.
"Temporary gate closures are not abnormal," a Burning Man rep told Insider. "In this case, we're thankful the rain took place early during set up and isn't affecting too many folks, and that our teams already in Black Rock City are safe."
The annual festival hosts about 70,000 Burners, who bring their own food and create art installations in the desert. One of the event's principles is to leave no trace on the plot of land that serves as the grounds.
The event, for which tickets cost up to $2,750, has attracted the likes of Google cofounders Sergey Brin and Larry Page, Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, and Meta's Mark Zuckerberg.
Even the disgraced biotech entrepreneur Elizabeth Holmes has attended, infamously burning a Theranos effigy at the festival in 2018.
While some who planned on flying in for the event may also face delays, as Tropical Storm Hilary disrupted the travel plans of thousands attempting to fly to southwestern states, the ultra-rich don't have to worry: Their private-jet travel should get them to the desert just in time.
