A tragic incident occurred on the first day of the renowned Burning Man festival, held annually in Nevada’s desert, as a 39-year-old woman lost her life. Kendra Frazer was discovered unresponsive at the event on Sunday morning, and despite immediate attempts to resuscitate her, she did not survive. The cause of her death is currently under investigation, with an autopsy and toxicology screenings pending, according to Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen.
The unfortunate event took place before the official commencement of the festival, which was confirmed to have started at 6 p.m. by the festival organizers. Attendees were permitted to enter the festival grounds at midnight on Sunday. The festival’s organizers expressed their condolences to Frazer’s family and friends in a statement, acknowledging the impact this news would have on the festival community.
Burning Man, a nine-day event, is a celebration of community and art, culminating in the symbolic burning of a large wooden effigy. The festival takes place in Black Rock City, a temporary city erected in the Black Rock Desert in northwestern Nevada. The festival began early on Sunday after a 12-hour closure due to adverse weather conditions, as reported by The Guardian.
Approximately 20,000 attendees were already present on the playa, a silt alkaline Salt Pan, before the gates officially opened. The organizers anticipate a total of over 70,000 people to participate in the nine-day event. The festival has seen its share of tragedies in the past. Last year, a 32-year-old man from California, Leon Reece, was found unresponsive on the festival grounds, with drugs suspected to be the cause of his death. In 2017, a 41-year-old man from Oklahoma, Aaron Joel Mitchell, died after jumping into a massive, flaming effigy.
The festival, which attracts tens of thousands of people each summer, including celebrities like Paris Hilton, Heidi Klum, and Cindy Crawford, was famously disrupted last year when a rainstorm left thousands of attendees, including several A-listers, stranded in the mud. Notably, Chris Rock and DJ Diplo had to walk six miles in the mud before a fan offered them a ride on a truck.