Man dies at Burning Man as rain and mud plague Nevada event

A man in his mid-50s died at Burning Man in Black Rock City this week, organizers said. 

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The Burning Man Project, a nonprofit organization that manages the 70,000-person event, announced the participant’s death in a Thursday statement. The attendee experienced a “medical emergency” and was transported to the site’s emergency medical center, according to organizers, where he was eventually pronounced dead.

The attendee’s name has not been released because his family has not been notified, Burning Man organizers said. 

Officials did not disclose the circumstances surrounding his death. SFGATE reached out to the Burning Man Project for more information, but the organization was not sharing additional details at this time.

The attendee’s death comes as the area is experiencing severe weather conditions, including heavy wind and rain that has shut down the event’s entrance gates multiple times. Burning Man is held in Black Rock Desert in Nevada, where attendees are often faced with dusty air and thick, sticky mud. 

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According to a Black Rock City Dashboard, named after the temporary community built for the event, the gates are once again closed as of Friday afternoon because of the wet and rainy conditions.

During the event, which started on Sunday and ends on Sept. 7, another participant also experienced an emergency. On Tuesday, a man was severely injured after falling two levels from the 55-foot Nest Tower structure at the Square One camp, SFGATE previously reported. Bystanders said they saw the man land on a metal crossbar and reportedly hit his head, ribs and hip.