A participant died Sunday on the first day of the 2024 Burning Man festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, the event and local authorities said.
Burning Man emergency services responded to a call about an unconscious individual at 11:29 a.m. at Black Rock City, the Burning Man Project said in a news release. Life-saving measures were “attempted but were unsuccessful,” officials said. Black Rock City is a temporary city erected for the annual festival.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office identified the deceased in a statement Monday afternoon as Kendra Frazer, 39. No hometown was specified, but the department said the family had been notified.
The office said an autopsy and drug tests must be conducted before the cause and manner of death can be determined. Drug tests or toxicology analyses can sometimes take weeks.
In an earlier statement, the sheriff’s office said it was notified of the “potential death” of an attendee at 11:37 a.m. Sunday by the festival and that deputies responded and confirmed the death.
“Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends affected by this loss,” said the Burning Man Project, the nonprofit behind the annual event.
The organization said support is available for festival attendees, including peer support services at Black Rock Rangers headquarters and outposts, and through the Black Rock City Department of Emergency Services’ Crisis Support Team.
“The safety and well-being of our staff and community is paramount,” he said. “We are fully cooperating with local authorities as they investigate this incident. The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office investigates all deaths that occur within its jurisdiction.”
The move comes after the festival temporarily closed its gates early Saturday due to rain for about 12 hours.
Last year, Leon Reece, a 32-year-old festival-goer from Truckee, California, died after being found unconscious on the festival grounds, authorities said. Drug intoxication was suspected in his death, a medical examiner said in September.
The death came amid a weekend of heavy rains that left the event site muddy, roads impassable and many participants forced to leave the city on foot. Organizers temporarily halted traffic in and out of Black Rock City.
