Nevada
Burning Man 2006 Reaches Record Heights
The numbers are in for the Burning Man event and they show several records were broken in 2006, starting with the population of Black Rock City. A record 39,100 people were there at midnight on Fri., Sept. 1.
“This year’s population grew by about 3,360, or 9.4 percent, over last year’s maximum of about 35,740,” said Rodger Bryan, Associate Field Manager for the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) Winnemucca Field Office and daytime Incident Commander for this year’s Burning Man. “Everyone involved in the administration of the event agrees that this was the smoothest running Burning Man so far.”
The festival of art and self expression, the 17th consecutive Burning Man held in Nevada and the 16th on public land, operated under terms of a permit issued by BLM’s Winnemucca Field Office. The event was located on the Black Rock Desert Playa northeast of Gerlach, Nevada. It began Aug. 28 and ran through Sept. 4.
Each year a temporary city is laid out on the dry, barren lakebed of ancient Lake Lahontan. Global Positioning System instruments are used to locate a network of streets and intersections that create a semi-circular framework open to the northeast where “The Man,” constructed of wood, sits on the open playa. The road grid quickly fills with visitors who come from all over the world to populate Black Rock City, making it the seventh largest Nevada city for several days.
There were more and bigger “burn” events this year. In fact, as much propane had been burned by Thursday at noon as was burned during the entire 2005 event. Some of the more spectacular burns were the huge, twin air-bursts set off on Thursday night and the burning of Uchronia: Message out of The Future (a.k.a. the “Belgian Waffle”) on Sunday night (see photos).
Huge twin propane air bursts lit the night sky over Nevada’s Black Rock Desert Playa on Thursday, August 31, 2006. It reminded some Burning Man participants of old films they'd seen of nuclear blasts. The radiant heat warmed people more than a quarter-mile away.
"The structure above, built by a group of artists from Belgium, closely resembled an inverted bird nest. The project, officially titled “Uchronia: Message out of The Future,” was constructed using nail guns and dozens of pallets of 2"x 3"x 8' lumber. Within a few days, to the dismay of its creators, the structure was generally being referred to as the Belgian Waffle. Loud music and powerful colored lights that cast huge shadows of dancing visitors on its sides turned the “waffle” into a popular night time stop on the playa.
Uchronia: Message out of The Future (a.k.a. the “Belgian Waffle”) about half-way through its burn Sunday night, September 3, 2006. Fire whirls and smoke devils came to life and quickly died as the center of the burn reached white-hot temperatures causing some awestruck observers to temporarily move back a bit from the 400-foot safety perimeter.
Dust Storms Few, But One Especially Memorable
This year’s event was reasonably free of dust clouds. The weather was generally good with highs in the low to mid nineties and light to moderate winds. However, at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday evening a major dust storm slammed into Black Rock City causing total whiteout conditions that lasted for several hours. Suddenly, people who had been carefree pedestrians or bicyclists were lost in a white fog of choking playa dust. At times the dust would thin just enough to see fellow participants stopped in their tracks, unable to move for fear of bumping into someone else or being bumped into.
This year, at its peak, there were 60 BLM employees working at the Burning Man event, two less than in 2005. Most were law enforcement officers or those who support that function. Senior law enforcement staff who have worked the Burning Man event for years agree that this was the most peaceful event yet, despite the record attendance.
Each year, BLM, the Pershing County Sheriff's Office and Black Rock City, LLC set up an Incident Command Post (ICP) on the playa about a quarter mile outside of Black Rock City. BLM administration and law enforcement activities are conducted from the ICP, which also includes a dispatch center that enables BLM, the cooperating agencies and Black Rock City, LLC to communicate with the outside world primarily through radio and satellite phone communication. There is no public cell phone capability in the Black Rock-High Rock area.
Law enforcement statistics were down substantially from last year. BLM rangers issued a total of 155 citations, a decrease of 27, and made one arrest for a drug offense. Eighty-one of the citations were for drug-related offenses (down by 37 from 2005), 72 for violations of closure orders - trying to sneak into the event without paying (up 50 from a year ago), and the remainder for miscellaneous violations ranging from creating a nuisance to reckless driving. The Pershing County Sheriff’s office made seven arrests (up by 4 from 2005) and issued one citation (down one from a year ago). This means that the total of citations and arrests this year was 164, down 24 or nearly 13 percent from last year, despite increased attendance. A significant decrease was in drug citations and arrests, down from 120 in 2005 to 83 this year - a reduction of 31 percent.
The Nevada Highway Patrol worked 119 shifts to cover the heavy traffic entering and leaving the Burning Man event, the majority during the days when traffic was heaviest on Nevada Highway 447. Most activity involved assisting motorists, 560 of them, up 121 from last year. The number of accidents was unchanged from last year and there were no fatalities. Seventeen total arrests were made for an increase of 12 over last year; four of which were DUI arrests. A total of 234 citations were written (129 for speeding, 42 hazardous, 9 occupant restraint, and 54 others), and 213 warnings/mechanical repair orders were issued.
Regional Emergency Medical Services Authority (REMSA) recorded slight increases in medical treatments this year. Patient visits were up 70, or 4 percent, to 1,819 this year. Transports by ground and air from Black Rock City to Reno were up by 30 percent from 40 to 52. Injuries due to vehicle accidents (aircraft, mutant vehicles, cars, trucks, scooters, bicycles, etc.) were up from 5 to 8. There was one natural death from cardiac arrest.
Planning Necessary for Trouble-Free Event
To ensure that Burning Man is as safe and as trouble-free as possible, a number of meetings take place throughout the year among BLM, Black Rock City, LLC (the organizers of Burning Man), and many cooperators. Cooperators include: the Nevada Bureau of Health Protection Services, Nevada Environmental Protection Division, REMSA, Gerlach General Improvement District, Gerlach Justice Court, Washoe County Board of Commissioners, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Washoe County Road Division, Pyramid Lake Tribal Council, Federal Aviation Administration, Pershing County Board of Commissioners, Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Highway Patrol, Nevada Division of Investigation, and Nevada Department of Transportation.
“These groups work hard to address all the concerns that are brought forward to make Burning Man possible,” said Dave Cooper, Manager of BLM’s Black Rock Desert-High Rock Canyon Emigrant Trails National Conservation Area. “This year’s permit included 96 conditions and stipulations dealing with event set-up, signing, traffic control, security, public safety, resource management, fire management, dust abatement, aircraft and runway requirements, fee calculation and payment, and event take-down and clean-up. It is a truly remarkable cooperative effort.”
"Burning Man is by far the largest special recreation event permitted by the Bureau of Land Management," said Cooper. “In the coming years, together with our cooperators, we will continue to protect the public lands and resources that host and surround the event and to improve public safety measures wherever possible."
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