73 Thousand Participants of the Burning Man Festival Remain Stranded Due to Heavy Rain

The festival Burning Man is drowning in mud due to continuous rains, making it impossible to exit the Black Rock Desert. Visitors have been urged to conserve fuel, food, and water.

This was reported by USA Today.

Representatives from the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which oversees the festival's land, along with the sheriff's office, have also decided to restrict entry to the festival until the end of the event.

The rain, which has been ongoing for more than two days, has caused a complete halt in transportation within the festival grounds. According to experts, heavy downpours are expected to intensify over the next several days.

"The gates and airport in Black Rock City, as well as the exit from it, remain closed. Entry and exit are currently suspended, including Burner Express Air and Bus. Driving is prohibited, except for emergency vehicles. If you are in BRC, stay in place and stay safe," organizers wrote on their Twitter.

Due to the weather conditions, transportation will not be able to leave the festival grounds, potentially stranding thousands of people who may miss their flights home.

The extreme weather began just as the festival was reaching its peak - on Saturday evening during the final event of the festival when a huge statue that towers over the temporary city is traditionally burned.

This year, one of the iconic festivals of contemporary art - Burning Man - traditionally held in the Black Rock Desert in the American state of Nevada, started on September 27 and was supposed to last until September 4.

During the festival, art objects are brought to the desert from all over the world, and events and concerts are held. Every year, tens of thousands of people attend the festival, living in tent cities and bringing their own water, food, and electrical equipment.

It is worth noting that this year, for the first time in the festival's history, it was opened with a symbolic performance from Ukraine - when a sculpture by Ukrainian artists Oleksiy Sai and Bogdana Kosmina was burned.

At first, the sculpture was hidden from the audience by a wooden box similar to the constructions used in Ukraine today to protect cultural heritage from Russian missile attacks.

After the sculpture was set on fire, a variation of the Ukrainian coat of arms - the Trident in the form of a mythical phoenix, which is reborn in fire, appeared before the audience.