News Digest

On fire: Nevada’s Burning Man festival draws peak crowd of 66,000

The Burning Man counterculture festival drew a peak crowd of nearly 66,000 celebrants as it neared an end Monday on the northern Nevada desert. Friday’s official peak attendance of 65,922 was within the population cap of 68,000 the federal Bureau of Land Management imposed. The number was down from last year’s record peak crowd of 69,613, which resulted in organisers being placed on probation for a second time in three years for violating the limit. Organisers had been warned that if they were placed on probation a second straight year, the agency might suspend or cancel their permit.

That [crowd size] is not a problem this year.

Gene Seidlitz, manager of the agency’s Winnemucca District

Overall, the weeklong festival leading up to Labor Day was successful and safe except for Thursday’s death of a 29-year-old Wyoming woman who was struck by a bus carrying passengers on the playa of the Black Rock Desert, Federal Bureau of Land Management Winnemucca district manager Gene Seidlitz said. Crime statistics will not be released until later this month, he added. Rain early on closed the gate for a day – the longest closure in the event’s history – and dust storms caused occasional whiteout conditions Friday. But the festival’s eclectic artwork, offbeat theme camps, concerts and other entertainment drew praise from participants from around the world.