Tens of thousands of partygoers stranded at the Burning Man counterculture festival by a storm hoped muddy roads would reopen and allow them to begin their exodus from the northern Nevada desert.
Event organisers said on Monday (Tuesday AEST) that it was still too wet for a safe mass departure of camper vans and other vehicles but hoped traffic could begin flowing later in the day with the help of sunny and mostly clear skies — even as they asked revellers to delay their exit to ease traffic on the main road.
Organisers also asked attendees not to walk out of the Black Rock Desert about 177kms north of Reno as others had done throughout the weekend, including celebrity DJ Diplo and comedian Chris Rock. They didn't specify why.
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The festival was closed to vehicles after more than 1.3cms of rain fell on Friday. The road closures came just before "the Man" was to be set ablaze on Saturday night.
The event traditionally culminates in the torching of the large wooden effigy shaped like a man and a wooden temple structure during the final two nights, but the fires were postponed to Monday night as authorities worked to reopen exit routes by the end of the US Labor Day weekend.
The festival was closed to vehicles after more than 1.3cms of rain fell on Friday. The road closures came just before "the Man" was to be set ablaze on Saturday night.
The event traditionally culminates in the torching of the large wooden effigy shaped like a man and a wooden temple structure during the final two nights, but the fires were postponed to Monday night as authorities worked to reopen exit routes by the end of the Labor Day weekend.
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US President Joe Biden told reporters in Delaware on Sunday that he was aware of the situation at Burning Man, including the death, and the White House was in touch with local authorities.
The event is remote on the best of days and emphasises self-sufficiency.
Amid the flooding, revellers were urged to conserve their food and water, and most remained hunkered down at the site.
Some attendees, however, managed to walk several kilometres to the nearest town or catch a ride there.
The event began on August 27 and had been scheduled to end Monday with attendees packing up and cleaning up after themselves.
