Burning Man Sees Fourth Death In Four Years, Festival Gate Closed Again Due To Weather

A Burning Man attendee has died, marking the festival's fourth death in four years. The man passed away on Friday (Sept. 4) after a medical emergency, and no foul play is suspected. Last year's homicide remains unsolved. In addition, the gate into and out of Black Rock City was closed on Thursday (Sept. 3) because of strong winds and whiteout conditions, and again today due to rain.

Beyond the recurring weather problems, there is more handwringing than ever about what's become of Burning Man. Last week Burning Man cofounder John Law wrote a guest piece for the San Francisco Standard about how the "festival lost its soul": "What began as an anarchistic collaboration of equals has become a commercialized escape hatch for the wealthy." Likewise, festivalgoers are now very old and male, or as the New York Post's headline puts it, "Burning Man has become a wrinkled sausage fest of aging millennial men, data shows."

This year's festival had five sets from Diplo. He posted about his struggles leaving the festival on his Instagram Story: "Here I am, walking out of Burning Man again ... six miles in, we're almost to the road ... It's fucked up, but I love it. Life presents many challenges, you've just got to persevere."

Meanwhile, the viral story out of the Playa this year has been Bethenny Frankel's attendance. The Real Housewives of New York City star has been documenting her experience at the festival, which included her doing the Notorious B.I.G.'s "Juicy" at karaoke. Also in attendance was a Christian missionary camp called Shift The Atmosphere, who were kicked out and very upset, writing on Instagram, "Burning Man is discriminating us and breaking their own rules of being 'radically inclusive' and KICKING us out for being Christians?!"

They will miss out on the Orgy Dome, which as we reported, was destroyed last year. It has risen for 2026, so that everyone can get STIs.