The CEO of Burning Man said Sunday that the situation at the venue in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert was under control and far from alarming.
“There is no cause for panic,” Marian Goodell told NBC News.
Burning Man’s estimated 70,000-plus attendees were isolated at the venue known as Black Rock City as rain returned Sunday and closed roads, muddy campgrounds, and one reported death darkened the day.
“We’re very pleased and surprised that there has been such a fuss over us,” said the CEO of the nonprofit Burning Man Project, which organizes the annual event.
Organizers planned an orderly exit Monday, which is the last day of the event, and have so far turned down help from the Nevada National Guard, Goodell said.
“We’ve made it really clear that we do not see this as an evacuation situation,” she said. “The water is drying up.”
The crowd at the countercultural music and arts festival was first advised to “shelter in place” and conserve food and water on Friday, according to notices from organizers.
All inbound and outbound traffic was halted and remained so Sunday, and the shelter-in-place recommendation was still in place in the afternoon. Roads were essentially impassable, organizers said.
Saturday night, the party had seemed all but over as organizers said their main focus was getting people out. “Most Festival operations have been halted or significantly delayed,” the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.
But even with more rain falling, organizers on Sunday said the annual burning of a wooden man in effigy, which usually takes place on the last Saturday night of the party, will most likely happen Sunday at 9:30 p.m.
The reported death at the festival site is under investigation, local authorities said Saturday. The cause was not clear Sunday.