Someone was electrocuted at Burning Man Tuesday night and had to be airlifted out, as recurring thunderstorms are creating flooded conditions that are very risky for generators and electrical gear.
We are now about halfway through Burning Man 2025, and this year’s event has been pummeled with afternoon thunderstorms that have created flash-flood conditions. The standing water from these storms is quite possibly responsible for this year’s first major medical emergency at Burning Man, as the Reno Gazette-Journal reports that a man was electrocuted and airlifted to a hospital Tuesday night sometime after 6 pm.
The man's name and condition have not been made public. And we are merely speculating that the man was electrocuted by stepping in a puddle that had active electrical gear, but there are many factors pointing to this, and several campers who’ve spoken on Burning Man Information Radio report that their electrical systems have been getting fried by the flood waters. Reno’s KNRV reports that the man was airlifted “after reportedly stepping into a puddle of water and potentially being electrocuted.”
Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen merely told the Gazette Journal that “We were able to verify a male was airlifted for a report of electrocution,” though the Chronicle adds “his office was struggling to get more details from Burning Man officials.”
And the official Burning Man Project seems to indicate that it was a flooding-related electrocution, with a 12:30 pm Wednesday update saying, “If you are in Black Rock City, continue to be safe and keep all cables, plugs, and generators dry and covered. Never run a generator or powered gear sitting in water.”
The gates of Burning Man were shut down by the storm sometime after 6 pm Tuesday, and the Chronicle notes that Burning Man-bound vehicles were being turned away in Nixon, Nevada, which is about 50 miles south of the event. The gates were reopened at about 11:30 am Wednesday morning.
So the storms and weather have put a damper on Burning Man this year, pretty reliably with late afternoon thunderstorms that come after milder weather in the morning and early afternoon. That pattern is expected to continue Wednesday, as more thunderstorms are predicted for Wednesday afternoon. Though if you’re still planning on heading to Burning Man this year, weather conditions are expected to improve after Wednesday’s storm and heading into the weekend.
Image: Shahaf Galil via Facebook
