Thousands of attendees on the Burning Man competition in a distant stretch of the Black Rock Desert in Nevada had been informed on Saturday to preserve meals, water and gas after heavy rainfall trapped them in thick mud.

The occasion, which takes place in Black Rock City and started on Sunday, was interrupted by heavy rains on Friday night time, and organizers directed attendees to shelter in place as rain poured over the world.

The competition website obtained greater than half an inch of rain in a single day on Friday, organizers mentioned. While it had stopped for a lot of Saturday, extra was anticipated within the night and into Sunday morning, with a slight probability of thunderstorms, they mentioned.

Except for emergency companies, automobiles have additionally been prohibited round Black Rock City.

The Washoe County Sheriff’s Office mentioned on the platform X, previously referred to as Twitter, that officers had closed the doorway to Burning Man for the rest of the occasion, which ends on Monday.

Festivalgoers might be trapped for a number of days, organizers mentioned.

“The gate and airport in and out of Black Rock City remain closed,” organizers announced on Saturday morning. “Ingress and egress are halted until further notice.”

Black Rock City is a brief neighborhood that pops up every year in the course of an unlimited desert referred to as “the playa” for Burning Man. The makeshift city hosts greater than 60,000 individuals yearly and is a three-hour drive from the closest airport, which is greater than 100 miles away in Reno.

Videos on social media have proven Burning Man attendees trudging by means of flooded fields and dense mud. Portable restrooms, R.V. campers and folks gave the impression to be slathered within the muck. Some tied trash luggage round their footwear.

Burning Man, which has been round for the reason that Eighties, is a self-described “community and global cultural movement” that’s premised on countercultural rules, akin to radical self-expression.

The competition is understood to attract crowds of individuals dressed in eclectic garments and costumes, and it’s been popularized over time by a gentle stream of celebrity and mogul attendees.

The occasion options artwork installations and culminates with the burning of an enormous sculpture of a person, giving it its identify.

Tara Saylor, who’s attending this yr’s competition, informed The Los Angeles Times, “Burning Man is radical self-reliance and we’re being put to the test.”

Despite the climate, Burning Man attendees say they had been ready and skilled for such circumstances. The occasion is “much different than going to a music festival like Coachella,” mentioned Kaz Qamruddin, who’s attending his sixth “burn.”

“We have very smart people here,” he mentioned in a cellphone interview on Saturday.

People have medical provides and heat garments and are serving to to maintain others protected and dry, he mentioned.

Attendees have additionally opened their R.V. campers to those that had been staying in tents, which had been probably the most susceptible to the water, Mr. Qamruddin mentioned.

This yr’s Burning Man has needed to cope with a number of snags. On the competition’s opening day, environmental activists blockaded the doorway, making a logjam, NBC News reported.

And with extremely muddy circumstances, water puddled to their ankles and extra rain anticipated tonight, attendees are unlikely to depart till early subsequent week.

Mr. Qamruddin already modified his departing flights to subsequent Friday — after initially planning to depart on Sunday.

“This is a very kind, open, sharing, giving community,” he mentioned. “We’re safe. I feel good.”

Colbi Edmonds contributed reporting.