Woman Dies on First Day of 2024 Burning Man

Details on what happened were scant
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Aug 26, 2024 11:00 AM CDT
On Burning Man's First Day, a Death
In this file photo, participants walk around at the Burning Man festival in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.   (Andy Barron/The Reno Gazette-Journal via AP, File)

Burning Man's first day of 2024 had a note of tragedy: Organizers say a woman was found unresponsive late Sunday morning and couldn't be revived, reports NBC News. Authorities have released no further details about the death in the Nevada desert, including the woman's age or identity, or what might have caused it. The Pershing County Sheriff's Office is investigating. "This is the first reported death on the playa this year and unfortunately it has happened on day one," said Sheriff Jerry Allen, per the Reno Gazette Journal.

The newspaper counts at least seven Burning Man deaths since 1996, including that of a 32-year-old man last year who died of suspected drug intoxication. This year's event has had a rough start in other ways—heavy rain on Saturday prompted organizers to close the entrance gates for about 12 hours. (And that's following last year's muddy mess.) Also this year, ticket sales were slow in an unprecedented way. (More Burning Man stories.)

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