Videos show chaos at Burning Man 2023 after mud traps 70,000

It was announced at around noon on Saturday that access to Burning Man has been closed for the remainder of the event, and driving is prohibited within Black Rock City except for emergency vehicles. 

“The Playa is an ancient lake bed and when wet, and can be impassable. Vehicles can get very stuck due to the fine silt and clay minerals that exist on the Playa,” Nevada’s Bureau of Land Management announced in a Facebook post. “Stuck vehicles can also impact the Playa ecosystem. Additionally, cell service can be spotty and towing services are limited. Stay off the wet Playa and stay unstuck!”

Despite the spotty service, many people at the event are finding ways to post videos to TikTok and other social media platforms documenting their experience at what is now being dubbed “Raining Man 2023” and “Trench Foot 2023” by those posting and commenting.

In one video, Burners wait in line for breakfast while standing in shin-deep mud. Another video shows the inside of several large tents and camp set-ups completely ruined, with text that reads “Burning Man is under water. The end of a dream!”

 “Do not ride your bike. Do not push your bike around,” a broadcaster for Burning Man Information Radio is heard saying in another video posted to TikTok. “Remain where you are. Secure structures and belongings in your camp. Don’t operate generators or other electrically-powered instruments that have been standing in water. Cover or secure anything electrical. Check on your camp-mates and neighbors to make sure they’re okay and help them as needed, and take advantage of a moment of calm to connect with camp-mates and hunker down.”

“There’s an inch of water in every tent. I don’t know what we’re going to do. We’re out of drinking water; it’s all been compromised,” one user said in a video posted to TikTok. 

Other Burners have managed to still keep their spirits up: some videos show people dancing under colored lights inside their soggy tents, standing on coolers or tying trash bags around their legs to avoid the mud.