The annual community festival held in the middle of nowhere in a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert did not bring good news this year. The 37th Burning Man festival started 9 days ago on Aug. 27 and was set to conclude its festivities on Sept. 4, Labor Day. However, as strong storms inundated the event in Black Rock City in northwest Nevada, things took a disastrous turn for more than 70,000 guests.
On Sept. 2, reports surfaced that the festival’s desert grounds had become muddy and soggy due to a disastrous downpour. The floods brought traffic to a halt and prompted requests for food and water conservation for the more than 70,000 “burners” present at the location. However, the situation turned more horrific when more reports started surfacing online about an alleged Ebola outbreak at the festival. But is there any truth to the claim?
What is happening at Burning Man 2023?
The remote area in northwest Nevada where the event is held was hit with 2 to 3 months’ worth of rain – up to 0.8 inches – in just 24 hours between Friday and Saturday morning. “A little over 70,000 people” remained stranded on site, according to Sgt. Nathan Carmichael, with the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office (via CNN). The heavy rains inundated the area and created thick, ankle-deep mud, causing authorities to close the roads. While some people have managed to leave the site by walking out, “most of the RVs are stuck in place,” said Carmichael.
Due to the grave circumstances, a lot of false information has started to circulate on social media. The quarantine-like situation created by the floods has prompted some wild claims, such as an alleged Ebola outbreak at the site. The rumors about an Ebola outbreak started Saturday on X (Twitter), where a fake screenshot of a post from the CDC started surfacing, claiming that an Ebola outbreak was confirmed in Black Rock City, Nevada. Users argued that the news was shared but then deleted by the official CDC account.
However, multiple sources have since confirmed that there is no sign or evidence of an Ebola outbreak at the site. There is also no trace of the CDC ever sharing the post, and X’s Community Notes feature, which helps in fact-checking misinformation has also ruled out the information as false and misleading.
There’s no proof that anyone at Burning Man has contracted Ebola, except for a few accounts making up theories about a quarantine zone being set up in the area and putting up unverified claims of aircraft entering the area as a part of the blockade. In response to the rumors, a nurse, claiming to be working at the hospital at Burning Man has also posted on X, setting things straight:
So far, one death has been reported in the area, and the police are currently investigating the case. Sunshine is expected to return on Monday, but organizers do not currently have any “estimated time for the roads to be dry enough for RVs or vehicles to navigate safely” (via CNN). On the bright side, there is no truth to the assertion that there is an Ebola outbreak, and everyone who attended is anticipated to arrive home safely soon.