Death at Burning Man under investigation after thousands stranded at festival site

RENO, Nev. — Officials in Nevada are investigating a death at the Burning Man festival site where thousands of attendees were stranded Saturday evening due to storms that caused heavy flooding.

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The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said that the death reportedly happened during the event but no additional information was released including the name of the deceased or cause of death, according to KNSD, per The Associated Press.

“The family has been notified and the death is under investigation,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release late Saturday night obtained by CNN. The sheriff’s office also said that the death “occurred during this rain event.”

Pershing County Law Enforcement Association said that the sheriff’s office and Bureau of Land Management closed the Burning Man entrance for the remainder of the event due to the recent downfall.

“More rain is expected over the next few days and conditions are not expected to improve enough to allow vehicles to enter the playa,” the Bureau of Land Management said in a statement obtained by the Reno Gazette Journal.

The U.S. Bureau of Land Management that oversees the Black Rock Desert where Burning Man is held says that the vehicle gates are closed for the remainder of the event, according to the AP. The festival started on Aug. 27 and was scheduled to end Monday. It is not clear yet when the entrance will be opened again or if anyone could leave the festival grounds.

Burning Man is an annual event where “a large wooden effigy was to be burned Saturday night,” the AP reported.

The AP said that it reached out to the Bureau of Land Management and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, the two agencies that closed the festival entrance, but did not immediately hear back.