Mass exodus from Burning Man after flooding strands 70K festivalgoers

UPDATE — 11:54 a.m.

Thousands of people trapped at Burning Man after flooding made roads impassible are now able to leave the Black Rock Playa.

A miles-long line of cars out of the festival grounds is now moving slowly out of the desert:

UPDATE - 8:45 a.m.

According to Burning Man officials, the Gate Road is still too wet and muddy for most vehicles to leave. They said they're looking at starting Exodus around noon today and will provide further updates in the next couple of hours.

PREVIOUS - Relief could be in sight for thousands of people who have been stuck at the Burning Man festival in northern Nevada.

On Sunday night, organizers said conditions are improving on the playa and they are expected to open the roads so people can leave on Monday morning. They added they would make the final decision by 9 a.m. However, some roads are still impassable due to the weather. Festival organizers said Gate Road is currently impassable and they have created alternative routes, which drivers will be redirected to.

The Man burn has been rescheduled for Monday night at 9 p.m. while the Chapel of Babel is scheduled to burn at midnight on Monday night/early Tuesday morning.

Organizers said they've added mobile cell trailers around the Black Rock City to boost cell service and there are now charging stations for public use.

Storms dumped heavy rain on the playa, which has made it impassable for several days.

RELATED LINK: 73,000 at Burning Man told to shelter in place, conserve food

The issue has made it all the way up to White House. On Sunday, reporters asked President Joe Biden about the situation.

"We're in touch with the local people," Biden said. "Pay attention. We ought to be getting everybody out of there. There was one death."

While driving has been nearly impossible, some festivalgoers have resorted to walking up to five miles in the mud in order to leave the festival grounds. That includes comedian Chris Rock and DJ Diplo.

"I had some pretty good boots that had zippers instead of ties and they worked pretty well. They were caked with mud so they got pretty heavy. They were like three pounds each at one point," Diplo told CNN. "When you started to walk in the mud, you kind of realized you have to stay low to the ground and it's very slippery. In the middle of the desert, you don't expect rain."

He added that Rock was terrified of being stuck out there.

"Chris is going to have a huge bit in his next special about Burning Man because he was really bizarrely scared of what was going to happen," Diplo said. "He thought there was going to be cannibalism and didn't know if people were going to run on our camp and steal our stuff. I said look man. This is great people. They know what they're doing here. Everybody here is camping. They are all self-reliant."

Eventually, fans recognized the pair, who were also walking across the playa with Cindy Crawford, Rande Gerber, Kaia Gerber, and Austin Butler. The fans gave them all a lift in the back of a pickup truck.

"It was like old times, just a caravan across the country. His name was Tony. He was awesome, a really good guy.. He's going to come to some shows," Diplo said. "We got to Reno and found some hippies in the street that had a sprinter van and said we would give them $1,000 to take us to the airport. We just got in the back of the car, drove for three hours, and listened to some Neil Young while drinking some beers."

Despite the challenging circumstances, several Burners said they plan on returning to the event next year.

"Everybody was being really wonderful. It's a great community. People were helping each other, offering food and water and shelter to those who needed it. I think it probably made the core community a lot stronger," Gillian Bergeron said. "We are all at the mercy of Mother Nature on the playa. I was super impressed with the organization. All the staff, they have plans for this. I fully intend to be back out there. It was honestly one of my favorite years I've ever had out there. It just ended in kind of a crazy way."