A rare rainstorm swept through Nevada on Monday, forcing the organizers of the Burning Man festival to cancel the first day of the annual event. The venue will be closed until midday Tuesday, and police have been turning back cars on their way to the festivities.
In the announcement made in the event's Twitter page, the organizers said, "BRC is closed until midday Tuesday due to rain and standing water. At the request of organizers, law enforcement is turning cars back."
BRC is closed until midday Tuesday due to rain and standing water. At the request of organizers, law enforcement is turning cars back.
— Burning Man (@burningman) August 25, 2014
The event is held every year on the week leading to and including Labor Day, and takes place 120 north of Reno, in the Black Rock Desert. The Black Man organization builds the infrastructure called "Black Rock City" where attendees (or burners) can camp for the duration of the event. However, the first day of this year's festivities was dampened by a rare rainstorm which, according to Reuters, left mud and standing water on the venue.
Around 60,000 people from all over the country converge in Nevada to attend the arts and culture event. The organizers define it as "an annual experiment in temporary community dedicated to radical self-expression and radical self-reliance," but they also said that trying to explain what Burning Man is, is like trying to describe a specific color to a blind person.
The event is guided by what the group calls its Ten Principles, including Radical Inclusion, Radical Self-Reliance, and Radical Self-Expression, as well as Civic Responsibility and Leaving No Trace. There is also a theme for each year, such as Beyond Belief, The Floating World, Time, and Outer Space. This year's theme is Caravansary.
The unexpected bad weather has dampened the festive mood, and organizers are advising attendees to wait for further details. It said:
Rain continuing. Please do not come to Burning Man until you hear otherwise from official channels. — Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) August 25, 2014
