Burning Man Considering Relocating For 2017 Due To Flooding After Winter Rains

Black Rock City Nevada Desert Site In Question Heading Into July

The heavy winter rains along the West Coast have caused many schedules to be changed and things to be disrupted – Mammoth Mountain is open to skiing and snowboarding into August and the LA Rams stadium opening has been delayed by a year – and an annual spiritual event in the Nevada desert may be relocated for 2017.

Burning Man officials are looking at alternate sites if conditions in Black Rock City do not improve in the next few weeks. The event is scheduled for Aug. 27-Sept. 4.

Not to worry, tho, “burners,” as event participants are called; officials say they have not only a Plan B but also a Plan C if they need to relocate the event.

The problem is not rain or standing water but mud. Right now the area is not dirt – the area is famous for its “clinging dirt” that sticks to everything – but is mostly mud. It was basically a lake just a few months ago and has yet to fully dry.

Burning Man officials and the Bureau of Land Management (BLM), which issues the permit to Burning Man, is setting a deadline of early August to make a decision on whether or not the 2017 event will be held in its traditional location or if it will be relocated to another area.

The permit to hold the event is typically issued at the end of July or the first of August. So there is no need to panic. And preparations for those going to the event will remain the same as always.

Some 70,000 self-proclaimed “burners” have bought tickets and will be at the event, no matter where it takes place in 2017. People build a series of camps around a burning man – kind of like a college football homecoming bonfire – in an area known as Black Rock City.

This is a “bring your own and leave nothing behind” event in which people gather to celebrate life. Despite ticket prices starting at $400 and rising to $1,200, it sold out in approximately 20 minutes in a lottery back in the spring.