Thousands trapped in desert mud following Burning Man

Thousands are still trapped at the Burning Man festival in Nevada after torrential downpours turned the northern desert site into a thick mud pit.

Transcript

00:00 This morning in the Black Rock Desert of Nevada, unusually late summer rainstorms

00:05 turned the week-long Burning Man festival into a muddy mess, leaving tens

00:10 of thousands of people stranded. The Pershing County Sheriff's Office saying

00:14 one person has died. That death is under investigation. The torrential downpour

00:19 forcing partygoers to take shelter this weekend, some trudging through muck with

00:24 plastic bags on their feet. Revelers were told by officials to conserve food

00:28 and water. "We're running, almost running out of the gasoline, so that's why in the

00:33 daytime we mostly like stay without electricity." The conditions making

00:39 traveling in and out of the area unfeasible. This video posted on social

00:43 media by music producer Diplo shows him hitching a ride out of the festival

00:47 Saturday with comedian Chris Rock after they walked five miles in the mud out of

00:52 Burning Man. Despite that, spirits remain high for some partygoers on site. This is

00:57 the best burn ever. Seriously, like this has given us the opportunity to rise to

01:03 radical self-reliance and to support each other in the community and I'm

01:07 having the best time. The annual counterculture celebration happening

01:13 about a hundred miles north of Reno attracts nearly 80,000 artists, musicians

01:17 and activists. Organizers have had to cancel the festival before due to COVID-19

01:22 and dust storms. The White House says President Biden is monitoring the

01:26 situation closely.

01:29 Burning Man organizers say it's not clear when the roads will be dry enough

01:37 to navigate, but they say they're hopeful to resume plans for the festival tonight,

01:42 weather permitting. Em Wynn, ABC News, Washington.