PHOENIX — Tens of thousands of Burning Man attendees are finally making their way out after a messy weekend in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.
Wait times to exit the venue reached as high as eight hours according to the festival's social media pages.
Unprecedented rainfall turned the campgrounds into mud pits and left attendees stranded.
“You take one step and you've got a platform shoe with four inches of this very sticky material on the bottom of your shoe," said Kirk Strawn of Phoenix.
Kirk Strawn has been to Burning Man fourteen times. He's a physician and the founder of Walter Productions and he brings his fiery art experiences to Nevada's famous desert.
“Almost everything that you see in the city of Black Rock City, which is Burning Man, has been created by the people who are attending," Strawn said. "The scale of the art and the ingenuity of all of the individuals that helped create Burning Man is just really mind-blowing."
Strawn said this year, the festival began with some of the best weather he's experienced there.
But the best would turn into some of the worst.
“Then the heavens unleashed a bit of fury and it rained nearly an inch," Strawn said. "And on this dry lake bed, which is a very flat, almost clay-like surface, it really creates some havoc.”
More than 70,000 attendees were asked to shelter in place. Some, including Diplo and Chris Rock, walked several miles to get to the nearest paved road to get out. Hundreds of cars became stuck in the sticky mud as they tried to leave.
“Most of the issues were really people trying to get out early or vehicles that just had to move around," Strawn described.
But so-called "Burners" like Strawn did not let the weather rain on their playa parade. He said his camp came prepared for anything - including inclement weather. They helped any neighbors who didn't.
“It actually turned out to be one of my favorite years, without a doubt. "It was just so very different. And we really got to know our neighbors and the people in our camp so much better," Strawn said. "It was really fun, to be quite honest.”
The famous ceremony of burning the man, the large statue, was rescheduled for Monday night. Strawn said he is staying for it. He's not burned out just yet.
“I’ll never forget this one," Strawn said.
Authorities said one death was reported but said there is no indication it was weather-related.
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