'Was it Armageddon? No.' Burning Man attendees from Coachella Valley 'roll with it'
Palm Springs resident Bob Bogard has attended each edition of Burning Man since 2014, and offered a crucial rule for attending the festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert: Bring what you need to provide for yourself.
Heeding said advice was particularly crucial Labor Day weekend, when heavy rains that began Friday afternoon turned the normally rock-hard desert floor into a muddy morass that was nearly impossible to walk on. Burning Man officials said only four-wheel-drive vehicles with adequate tires were able to navigate the slick streets, causing organizers to close the entrance and exit gates and tell its approximately 73,000 attendees to conserve food, fuel and water.
This wasn't Bogard's first experience with rain at the festival. It rained the first year when he attended during "build week," which is when attendees arrive and set up camp.
"You don't move around, and if you have to go to the portable toilets or something, you wrap plastic bags around your shoes so you don't get caught in the mud," Bogard said. "But it's better to just let it dry, and it dries quickly. If it doesn't rain again, the playa is easy to walk on."
Bogard attended the festival over the weekend with locals David A. Lee and Robert Lehman, and said the group wasn't anxious as the heavy rains started pouring down on Friday and continued throughout the weekend. In fact, he described it as a "better experience" than previous years on Tuesday morning while resting in Carson City, Nevada.
Local resident Lori Edwards-Jonasson was just outside Fernley, Nevada on Tuesday morning and said this was her fifth time at Burning Man. The only previous experience she had with rain was a few drops last year.
"Some people I camped with who've been many more years than me said they've experienced rain before, but never like this," Edwards-Jonasson said. "Most of my camp was out in it, going to party and having some of the best experiences they've had at Burning Man. Burners are resilient people. I personally hit the wall and don't like to be cold and wet. I hunkered down and didn't have the energy."
Even after organizers postponed the ceremonial burning of the sculpture of The Man on Saturday, Bogard said the playa was dry and the festival came alive.
"We had all these great conversations with people and it was really joyous," Bogard said.
But Edwards-Jonasson said mid-Sunday was the worst of it.
"It all runs together when you're out there. You have all the rain from the previous day and all you want is for the sun to come out and things to dry up, and here comes more," Edwards-Jonasson said.
To make matters worse, the portable toilets started to overflow over the weekend and the service trucks weren't able to make it through the mud to clean them out. Edwards-Jonasson said there were signs on the doors that said "Poop only, pee in a bottle and don't dump it here" and that most attendees who come in RVs will reserve septic space and use jugs or bottles for urine to dump in the portable toilets.
"Two days ago, there's honking in the streets and people cheering — it's the (portable toilet) trucks coming through. People were cheering like it was Christmas and Santa was coming," Edwards-Jonasson said.
When asked about the news stories and social media posts about the event, Bogard said it was "made out to be more of a mess than it was." During one of the downpours over the weekend, the group spent the day in the RV playing games and drinking bourbon.
"We were laughing about the news coverage because they were like '70,000 people trapped in the mud,'" Bogard said. "We're all survivalists and arrived with everything we needed. Some people didn't calculate enough for food, but Burning Man is all about sharing and collaboration. On Sunday night, we ran out of food, but our campsite had grilled cheese and tomato soup, which we had for dinner."
After reading some media reports saying the attendees were "trapped," Edwards-Jonasson posted a video to her Facebook page with the caption "the people of Black Rock City are alive and well and having a fun night on the playa."
"All of our loved ones were checking in with us asking 'Are you OK? The media said you're trapped,'" Edwards-Jonasson said. "We couldn't leave because our cars couldn't make it out, but does that make us trapped? We were fine. We had plenty of food, water and each other to lean on. You just roll with it. What happened in the desert (Coachella Valley) two weeks ago? We got flooded and you just roll with it. Were we trapped? A little bit, but was it armageddon? No."
Burning Man officials on Monday reminded attendees that their drive home would likely take them through the Pyramid Lake Paiute Tribe reservation. "Drive safely, obey traffic laws, be courteous, patient, dress appropriately if you leave your vehicle — please be respectful of the land and people you encounter," they said on X.
It took Bogard and his group seven hours to get out of the Black Rock Desert on Monday. He said they were stuck on I-18 in Nevada due to a car accident on Tuesday morning, but it took eight hours last year without the rain because the festival exit is a two-lane road with thousands of people headed in the same direction, so it's never a quick exit.
Edwards-Jonasson also left on Monday afternoon and didn't reach the asphalt until after 4 a.m. Tuesday.
About 73,000 people attended the annual festival, officials said. The burning of the sculpture of The Man took place on Monday, later than usual, due to the heavy rain that dampened the desert floor. A smaller but enthusiastic crowd remained as the effigy went up in flames. The burning of the Temple of the Heart, the final piece of the event, is set for Tuesday evening.
Brian Blueskye covers arts and entertainment for the Desert Sun. He can be reached at brian.blueskye@desertsun.com or on Twitter at @bblueskye.
Reno Gazette Journal staffer Trevor Hughes contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Palm Springs Desert Sun: Burning Man attendees from Palm Springs area: 'Was it Armageddon? No.'
