Burning Man organizers lift lockdown, attendees took part in event
BLACK ROCK CITY, Neva. (NBC, KYMA/KECY) - A mass exodus was underway at the Burning Man Festival in the Nevada desert.
The main gates finally opening up Monday, so that 70,000 festivalgoers could leave the muddy mess behind.
This comes after some attendees, known as "burners," defied a shelter in place request over the weekend and made a break for dry ground, some walking for miles.
On Monday, a line of vehicles trying to get to the nearest paved road, about five miles away from the festival site.
Festivalgoers participation
Later that night, festivalgoers who stayed finally participated in the festivities, with the festival's climax, the burning of a towering wooden effigy shaped like a man, taking place.
The chaos began after a late summer storm brought two months worth of rain to the area in less than two days, making roads impassable and creating a thick mud on the grounds that some compared to quick sand.
Police are investigating one person's death, but organizers say it was not storm related.
The annual gathering, which launched on a San Francisco beach over three decades ago, attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians and activists for a mix of wilderness camping and avant-garde performances.
