Burning Man victim identified — as tempers flare among the thousands scrambling to leave in epic mass exodus

A man who died at the famous US festival that turned to chaos amid flooding has been identified.

Vehicles are seen departing the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

The reveller who died at the annual Burning Man festival in the US has been identified as a 32-year-old man, authorities have announced — as the thousands of stranded partygoers now face an hours-long snarling traffic jam to escape the muddy grounds of the Black Rock desert.

Leon Reece was found unresponsive at around 6.24pm on Friday, local time, while the festival was experiencing heavy rains, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said in a statement, reported the New York Post.

Revellers attending the 2023 Burning Man Festival in Nevada were told to conserve food and water with heavy rain causing flooding to the remote site. Picture: Facebook.

His cause of death has not yet been determined, and an investigation is underway.

Authorities have previously said Mr Reece’s death appeared unrelated to the weather, but Mr Allen said that the stormy conditions delayed efforts to send help.

“Pershing County dispatch received a call regarding a male subject who was on the ground and unresponsive at the Burning Man Festival and medical personnel were administering CPR to the male,” Mr Allen said in his statement.

“Due to the unusual rain event happening on the Playa (the name given to the site of the festival), access to the area and investigative efforts were delayed.

Vehicles are seen departing the Burning Man festival in Black Rock City, Nevada, U.S., September 4, 2023. REUTERS/Matt Mills McKnight

“Upon the arrival of Pershing County Sheriff’s Office deputies, the doctor at the festival had already pronounced the male subject, later identified as Leon Reece, a 32-year-old male, deceased.”

He said deputies at the scene interviewed witnesses and medical responders but were unable to immediately determine Mr Reece’s cause of death.

The victim was then transported to the Washoe County Medical Examiner’s Office, in Reno, for an autopsy.

Mr Allen also used his statement to deny rumours about ebola spreading on the campsite.

“In consultation with the Bureau of Land Management and the Burning Man Project, there is no validity to any reports regarding an ebola outbreak, or any other disease,” he said in a statement.

Doctors had warned attendees to watch their health while they were stuck in the muddy desert for days.

This handout satellite image courtesy of Maxar Technology shows an overview of the centre camp of Burning Man festival on September 4, 2023. (Photo by Satellite image Maxar Technologies / AFP)

Stagnant water, the porta-potties, and cold weather put festival-goers at risk of hypothermia, foodborne illnesses, and Covid-19, medical professionals told website Insider.

The revellers were also urged to conserve food and water as they were banned from leaving.

But they were finally able to leave Black Rock City on Monday afternoon when local officials lifted a travel ban.

On Monday, festival-goers wer caught in an epic traffic jam on the five mile dirt road to the nearest highway.

The Burning Man Traffic account on Twitter, also known as X, estimated the exodus travel time at six hours on Tuesday — as organisers urged people to delay their departure until later on Tuesday.

Attendees were also asked not to walk out of Black Rock Desert as others — including comedian Chris Rock and DJ Diplo — did over the weekend.

A double rainbow after heavy rains turned the annual Burning Man festival site into a mud pit. (Photo by Josh Lease / UGC / AFP)

The pair had apparently walked 10km on Saturday through the mud before hitching a ride in the back of a fan’s pick-up truck, according to a video posted on Instagram by Diplo, whose real name is Thomas Wesley Pentz.

But some revellers still abandoned their vehicles and personal property in a desperate attempt to get out of the desert as quickly as possible, Mr Allen told the San Francisco Chronicle, as he slammed the frustrated and “angry” attendees.

He said they were “not showing compassion to their fellow man who have endured the same issues over the past few days” as they tried to leave the desert on Monday night.

“As usually happens in what Burners refer to as the ‘default world,’ people allow their emotions to override their reasonableness, and they are lashing out at each other as they leave the Playa and attempt to make it to their next destination,” Mr Allen told the Chronicle.

“This behaviour definitely does not fall within the 10 principles of Burning Man, but that is not the fault of [the Burning Man Project] either, but is a societal issue.”

Those Burning Man organisers are now ultimately responsible for the clean up of the Playa as well as the entrance and exit roadways, Mr Allen said.

This story appeared in the New York Post and is repordiced with permission.