Scene from Mad Max? No, just 15-lane traffic after a 9-day Burning Man festival

Three years after a long Covid-19 pandemic delay, the Burning Man festival was back this year on the Black Rock Desert in Gerlach in United States’ Nevada and lasted for nine days that ended Monday. But the ceremonious ending to the much-awaited anti-consumerism and self-expression festival had an acrimonious aftertaste as revellers started on their journeys back home only to be stranded for over nine hours in apocalyptic traffic.

Serpentine queues of cars blocked the highway and one photograph showed 15 lanes of traffic queued up bumper to bumper as far as the eye could see.

Over 80,000 attendees of the festival faced traffic snarls and the official account of the festival tweeted that the “Burners” consider delaying their departure till “conditions improve”.

Exodus wait time is currently around 8 hours. Consider delaying your departure until conditions improve. If you must leave now, drive on L Street to prevent traffic jams. Drive slowly, watch for road debris, follow directions from Gate staff, and listen to BMIR 94.5FM.

— Burning Man Project (@burningman) September 5, 2022

“Exodus wait time is over 9 hours. If you are still in #BRC, wait to leave. If you are on Gate Road, turn off your vehicle to conserve gas, and be patient. Teams are working to keep the roads safe and get everyone home safely. Gas up in Gerlach due to a fuel shortage in Empire.,” Burning Man Project tweeted.

“Traffic out of #BRC has paused due to multiple Motorist Assistance needs in the Empire, Nixon, and Wadsworth area. If you are leaving tonight, please turn off your vehicles to conserve gas, and stay in your vehicle. Traffic will resume as soon as it is safe to do so,” read another tweet from them.

Photos and videos from the unending traffic are viral on social media.

One Twitter user compared the “exodus” to Mad Max.

“Tho people love to compare the #Burningman aesthetic to Mad Max…the Exodus from camp is the most Mad Max I’ve felt all week…5 hours in, two more till I reach the exit gate,” he tweeted.

Tho people love to compare the #Burningman aesthetic to Mad Max…the Exodus from camp is the most Mad Max I’ve felt all week…5 hours in, two more till I reach the exit gate @bmantraffic @burningman pic.twitter.com/ihOczA91Z0

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— CJ (@cjyu) September 5, 2022

Outlandish and eccentric clothes is the flavour of every season at Burning Man. Revellers dressed up, enjoyed a stunning light show, took part in cinematic fights and burnt the “wooden man” effigy on Sunday, the main event, as is tradition since the event began in 1989.

But a dust storm hit the party on Sunday and visibility plummeted down causing a “white out”. That too didn’t deter the Burners who continued the celebrations amid the dust and sweltering heat and continued their activities – as depicted in a “Thunderdome” like fight going viral online.

The never-ending traffic was just the final obstacle in the Mad Max-themed festival.