An investigation has been launched into the death of a festivalgoer at the Burning Man festival. Burning Man is a festival held in the Black Rock Desert and is a "temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression, and self-reliance," according to its <a href="https://ra.co/events/612570">website</a>. However, the roads into and out of the popular event - which is usually dry and dusty - have been closed due to flooding caused by heavy rainfall - leaving 73,000 attendees stranded, as reported by <a href="https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-66700006">BBC News</a>. Revelers have been instructed to take shelter and conserve their food, water, and fuel as driving and biking are temporarily banned on the muddy roads. [[twitterwidget||https://twitter.com/420dogecoin/status/1698113964901855457]] Anyone planning on traveling to the festival - which kicked off on August 27 to was set to end on September 4 - has been banned from coming in as it is shutting down. According to <a href="https://news.sky.com/story/burning-man-festival-person-dies-as-heavy-rain-leaves-thousands-stranded-12953831">Sky News</a>, the US Bureau of Land Management - the agency that manages the land on which the event takes place - said in a statement: "Rain over the last 24 hours has created a situation that required a full stop of vehicle movement on the playa." "More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa," it added. The festival has descended into further chaos as it has been reported by news outlets that one person has lost their life. Per <a href="https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/burning-man-2023-nevada-trapped-b2404066.html">The Independent</a>, the death occurred during the festival, but local police have not identified the individual or shared a suspected cause of death. An investigation is reportedly ongoing. The unusual rainstorms came towards the end of the nine-day festival when the biggest crowds arrived to see the grand finale - the burning of the giant wooden man. It was located about 110m (177km) north of Reno, and at least another quarter of an inch of rain is expected Sunday (September 2). <img class="size-large wp-image-1263226905" src="https://img.vt.co/2023/09/burningman-1024x535.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="535" />[[imagecaption|| Credit: David McNew / Getty]] Per <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/culture/2023/sep/03/burning-man-nevada-festival-floods">The Guardian</a>, The Reno Gazette-Journal reported organizers have started rationing ice sales and that all vehicle traffic at the festival grounds had been stopped - leaving portable toilets unable to be used as service vehicles cannot drive on the mud to empty them. Another festivalgoer named Mike Jed and fellow campers made a bucket toilet so people didn’t have to struggle through the mud to reach the portable toilets. "If it really turns into a disaster, well, no one is going to have sympathy for us," Jed remarked, per the outlet. "I mean, it’s Burning Man." As cited by Sky News, Paul Reder, who has been attending the festival for 22 years, spoke about the positive aspect of the unfortunate situation in Nevada, stating: "Fortunately we're in a fairly big camp with a lot of supplies." He also added: "As a community, everybody's sharing with each other." <h6>Featured image credit: David McNew / Getty</h6>

Burning Man: Investigation launched after festivalgoer dies during heavy rainfall

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