Chris Rock And Diplo Make It Out Of Flooded Burning Man Festival, One Death As Thousands Still Stranded

Thousands of attendees at the Burning Man festival in Nevada were stranded Saturday night after flooding from storms swept through the area. The Pershing County Sheriff's Office said one person had died at the festival, but offered no other details, KNSD-TV reported.

Organizers closed vehicular access to the festival and urged attendees to shelter in place and conserve food, water and other supplies. They said cellphone trailers were being dropped in several locations and that would briefly provide internet access overnight. Shuttle buses were also being organized to take attendees to Reno from the nearest town of Gerlach.

The Reno Gazette Journal reported that organizers started rationing ice sales and that all automobile traffic at the site had been stopped, leaving portable toilets unable to be serviced, reported NPR.

Late Saturday officials said the entrance to the event remained closed and it wasn't clear when festival attendees could leave the grounds as no driving is allowed except for emergency vehicles, reported various outlets.

Chris Rock And Diplo Make It Out

Celebrity DJ Diplo posted a video on Twitter/X showing him and comedian Chris Rock riding in the back of a fan's pickup truck. He said they had walked six miles through the mud before hitching a ride.

just walked 5 miles in the mud out of burning man with chris rock and a fan picked us up pic.twitter.com/0uxSXLHgY6

— diplo (@diplo) September 2, 2023

Burning Man

The annual event in Nevada's Black Rock Desert is known for its counterculture ethos, emphasis on self-expression and lots of psychedelics and cannabis consumption. The festival attracts up to 70,000 people each year.

The Benzinga Cannabis Capital Conference in Chicago on September 27-28 promises not to be a dicey, muddy affair but rather the ideal place to meet the who's who in the industry from investors, CEOs to cannabis advocates and everyone in between including Illinois Gov. JD Pritzker. All information is available on bzcannabis.com  

Photo: Diplo's Instagram