Burning Man Closing Ceremony Postponed as Heavy Rain and Flooding Continues

September 6, 2023

The closing Burning Man Ritual was postponed to Monday due to the continuation of unpredictable rough weather.

The annual Burning Man closing ceremony was postponed to Monday as rain and flooding continued throughout the festival grounds all weekend long. The original closing ritual was scheduled to take place on Saturday, but the severity of the weather caused all pre-planned activites to be halted. Burning Man turned out to be the talk of the weekend amid the unfortunate chaos that occurred due to unpredictable weather conditions.

If you’re not a “burner”, the annual Burning Man closing ceremony is in reference to the burning of a manlike figure, a concept that traces back to the festival’s originators. The Burning Man Project began when a group of artists and friends gathered to celebrate the summer solstice by burning a wooden figure of a man. Since then, Burning Man has been a magical haven for artists, bohemians, social media influencers, celebrities, and like-minded individuals seeking to celebrate the festival’s values of radical self-reliance and artistic expression.

With that being said, the annual burning of a manlike figure did not happen on Sunday night as had been planned following Saturday’s initial postponement. The official Burning Man Traffic account advised that the annual Burning Man closing ceremony would instead happen on Monday night “due to rain and muddy conditions.” It was deemed impossible and unsafe to move the heavy equipment and conduct the explosive fires needed to perform the annual ritual as it would cause a safety hazard within the festival grounds’ already damaging conditions.

Luckily, Monday morning skies were partly sunny and the annual Burning Man closing ceremony was able to take place. On Monday night, the burning of a towering wooden man-like figure was ignited in true Burning Man fashion. The ceremony was much calmer this year compared to those in the years past since roughly half of the 70,000+ attendees had left the site earlier that morning when they finally got the opportunity to do so.

Sadly, this year’s Burning Man experience took a turn for festival goers as torrential rains turned Black Rock City in Nevada into a massive mudslide and left thousands of people stranded. Instead of celebrating art, music, and self-expression, attendees were forced to fight for their lives and experience each day as if they were on an episode of Survivor.

Although burners were devasted by the unusual turn of events, this year’s unexpected chaos exposed the unparalleled resilience of Burning Man attendees. Burning Man regulars pride themselves on their undeniable sense of strength and self-reliance. Except this time, they were forced to battle severe rainfall, mud, and lack of essentials instead of excessive heat and excessive raving. Despite all that occured, we’re glad burners were able to safely leave the playa following a successful execution of such a highly-awaited traditional closing ceremony.