Burning Man attendees report traffic jam of up to 12 hours to leave the festival

Burning Man attendees were caught in a traffic jam that some reports suggest lasted up to 12 hours when leaving the Nevada gathering this week, with temperatures hitting 40C.

More than 80,000 people attended the event, which ran from Sunday 28th August to Monday 5th September, with many experiencing significant problems leaving. Official Twitter accounts were actively trying to assist the exodus, although communication has been criticised for poor time estimates by some.

Held in the temporary city of Black Rock — a sprawling temporary desert colony created by the festival and its attendees, which disappears after the event — a report in The Guardian also points to complaints from residents of cities that many ticket-holders pass en route to the remote location. Residents of Reno and Lake Tahoe expressed concerns at the large amounts of rubbish dumped in their area, taken from the Burning Man site where a leave-no-trace policy is in place.

In August 2021, an ‘unofficial Burning Man’ attracted thousands to the event’s usual location in northern Nevada after organisers were forced to cancel the festival-proper for a second year running due to the Covid-19 pandemic.