Burning Man 2023 live: Chaos as attendees ‘lash out’ with exodus wait times still about four hours

An estimated 70,000 “Burners” remained trapped at Burning Man earlier this week after tropical downpours turned the desert landscape into a muddy swamp.

A deluge of rain in the Nevada desert has tested the annual bacchanal’s ethos of “radical self-reliance” like no other in its 35-year history.

While services such as internet and wi-fi were gradually being restored, sodden roads remained too treacherous to pass for the beginning of the traditional “Exodus” from the festival.

Princess Stephanie of Monaco’s daughter, Pauline Ducruet, has shared her escape from Burning Man on social media.

The eldest daughter of the royal gave her followers a glimpse of her getaway from the muddy grounds of the annual arts festival in the Black Rock Desert of northern Nevada after organizers lifted the driving ban at 2pm on Monday.

Ducruet, 29, posted on her Instagram Story a photo of the Black Rock Desert range through a car windshield and the open route ahead, captioned, “We out”.

The Alter designer also posted a photo of herself among a group dressed up in festival-ready garments that appeared to be taken before rain stranded thousands of festival-goers. “When it was dry and fun,” Ducruet wrote over the photo on her Story.

After falling for the “Hurricane Shark” hoax during Tropical Storm Hilary, Ted Cruz wanted to let everyone know he was in on the joke this time.

The Texas senator, and prolific content creator, shared a doctored image on Tuesday purporting to show a shark on a flooded highway near the Burning Man festival on the social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter.

“Holy crap,” Mr Cruz wrote, along with a crossed fingers emoji, to indicate he was in on the ruse.

The shark meme, which began circulating in 2011, has become an infamous online prank well-known to most savvy social media users.

Marjorie Taylor Greene has claimed that Burning Man revellers are being “brainwashed” into believing the washout has been caused by the climate crisis – which she claims was an act of God.

The Republican member of congress joined fellow conspiracy theorist Alex Jones on his Info Wars show on Sunday night, where they both launched into their beliefs about the festival in the Nevada desert.

“They’re not allowed to leave and they’re basically probably being brainwashed that climate change is the cause of it and it’s going to destroy the Earth.”

She added: “And they’re, they’re feeling the panic. So, what’s going to happen, Alex?”

The chaos of Burning Man isn’t over yet, with annoyed revellers lashing out at each other during the exodus from the festival site.

After a long weekend of unfortunate events and extreme weather – where a huge amount of rainfall turned the dry desert floor into a mud pit – tensions boiled over among some festivalgoers on Monday.

Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said that attendees “lashed out” at each other as the gates to the site finally opened but they were still left facing eight-hour waits to get out of the Nevada desert site.

The final event of lighting the ‘temple’ on fire took place on Tuesday night, marking the end of the Burning Man festival.

Revellers by tradition leave the names of departed loved ones and other remembrances to be burned in the temple. The wooden structure also acts as a space for the festival-goers to meditate.

For many, torching the temple has become the centerpiece of the burning — a more intimate, spiritual event than the rave-party-like immolation of the effigy.

Oliver Anthony, the country artist behind the viral hit “Rich Men North of Richmond”, is apparently among those stranded at Burning Man festival in Nevada.

Anthony, 31, was scheduled to be interviewed by the socialist political journal Midwestern Marx on Sunday (3 September); however, in a live stream, its presenters said the singer was “trapped” at Burning Man.

“Our man Oliver Anthony has been trapped in the flooding at Burning Man, this is what he told us over email,” one of the show’s three hosts explained.

“Oliver’s representative told us that he’ll be out there for at least another day. So honestly, right now, we’re mostly just concerned with his safety and hopefully he can make it out of this situation safe and then we can reschedule the interview for a different time.”

The exodus wait time is approximately four hours, according to a social media account linked to the Burning Man Project.

“Please be patient as you exit through Gate Road, and respect Burning Man staff who are working hard to make the Exodus experience as smooth and safe as possible,” it said.

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services reported that there were no unusual diseases found at Burning Man after conspiracy theories ran rampant online.

“The Division of Public and Behavioral Health has worked with Burning Man to oversee emergency medical services and environmental health, including some staff on site during the weather challenges,” a spokesperson for the Nevada Department of Health said in a statement provided to The Independent.

“Despite these challenges, staff report no unusual disease problems and that emergency services crews are all working together with no immediate concerns.”

Leon Reece, 32, was found unresponsive on the remote and weather-hit Nevada festival grounds on Friday.