Cape Town – Oh the irony! Burning Man, the US’ famous fiery festival held in the Nevada DESERT, has been postponed because of… wait for it… rain!
Rain! In the desert? What are the odds?
US Today reports that an unusual rainstorm broke out just north of Reno, Nevada, on Monday, causing havoc in the festival grounds and shutting the main gate to would-be attendees.
The counter cultural festival, which was the inspiration for legendary local event AfrikaBurn, kicked off on the day of the dreaded rain storm and is supposed to run for the rest of the week.
Hundreds of people had already entered the area, setting up camp and performance areas. While they were advised to stay put to avoid getting stuck on muddy roads, other ticket holders were turned away from the gates until further notice.
This, of course, caused quite an unexpected influx of party-ready weirdos into surrounding small towns like Gerlach and Pyramid Lake.
Check out this video of opening day setup turning into disaster as rain pours down:
Organisers have been keeping attendees up to date with developments via the official Burning Man Twitter account.
If you’re in Reno, please stay there until we let you know the Gate has reopened.
— Burning Man (@burningman) August 25, 2014
Burning Man and the roads leading to it reopen 6 a.m. Tuesday.
— Burning Man (@burningman) August 26, 2014
The unexpected downpour in the desert also solicited some classic responses on social media. Take a look at these funny tweets:
#BurningMan Canceled for Two Days Because Even God Hates Burning Man http://t.co/Eg0Kg5bgyV pic.twitter.com/mZSZnu0qPn
— ChungKristinas (@ChungKristinas) August 26, 2014
Burning Man? More like Not-Burning Man haha haha ha. Ha. Sorry.
— Vos (@AndrewVos) August 26, 2014
Now burning man can do the right thing and close forever
— Toaster (@toddbert) August 25, 2014
"Burning man postponed to due to rain" .... better luck next year trustafarians
— Mike Straynge (@mikestraynge) August 26, 2014
I was wrong apparently: Burning Man is not a dusty Davos, it's a muddy mess.
— Elettra Cavendish (@elettracrack) August 26, 2014
Come join our travel community! Like us on Facebook, follow us on Twitter and snap away on Instagram.Some are saying Burning Man is closed due to rain. Actually he's doing the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge.
— Cameron Sinclair (@casinclair) August 25, 2014