Thousands of stranded attendees made recent headlines at the annual Burning Man arts festival held in the remote Black Rock Desert of Nevada. In 2023, heavy rains and flooding turned the desert floor into a thick mud bath, leaving about 70,000 participants stranded for several days as roads became impassable and the event site was closed to vehicle traffic for safety reasons
. This unprecedented weather event forced organizers to advise attendees to shelter in place and conserve food, water, and fuel while waiting for conditions to improve before a slow and congested exodus could begin
. The festival, known for its large-scale art installations and counter- cultural community, typically attracts tens of thousands of people annually to this remote location
