Mutant cars from all over Black Rock City formed an outer ring around the towering effigy of the Man at Burning Man 2018 -- from the USS Nevada clipper ship to the 40-foot-tall marionettes to the Mayan Temple music car.
Within the car circle, tens of thousands of people gathered on the playa in a series of smaller circles, waiting to watch the Man burst into flames and collapse to the ground. Rangers and medical staff created a lattice between the spectator circle and impending fires, ready to tackle anyone who might come forward.
“If everyone is sitting, we can all see someone running or see that movement,” said a man who goes by “Land Cruiser.” He had attended Burning Man for 11 years and had volunteered as a ranger, the team that provides security, before. Rangers yelled at anyone who stood up and convinced other burners to chant, “If everyone sits, everyone sees.”
Security had been stepped up after last year, when Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, fatally ran into the Burning Man effigy.
After 30 minutes of fire performers, a spectacular fireworks display set the Man ablaze. Over a period of 15 minutes, a series of explosions intensified the flames around it. First, one arm fell off, then the next. About 15 minutes later, the Man fell forward into its robot-gear-shaped pedestal, crushing robot sculptures atop the pedestal as it went down.
The crowd cheered with each new collapsing piece of the Man and pedestal. It all slowly burned to the ground for about an hour.
“This is pretty ... intense,” said Jeff Richard, a first-time burner. “I’ve never seen a controlled burn like this. Look how high those flames go!”
Todd Gardiner, who brought Richard, said he likes that the burns have gotten bigger over the years. He started coming to Burning Man in 2001 when the Man was just a stick figure on a pile of hay.
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“I like the bigger Man better,” Gardiner said. “It makes this big event even bigger.”
Richard is an American who traveled from Berlin, Germany, for his first burn. He says he found a surprising sense of community.
“I thought it would be more like a rock festival,” he said. “But people at rock festivals turn into (jerks), but here everyone has been kind and helpful.”
When he needed supplies, people helped him. And when his neighboring camp needed tortillas for their taco bar, he gave them 80 of his. Richard said he will definitely try to make it back.
Gardiner loves bringing first-timers like Richard in order to share the experience. He said he regretted missing three burns since 2001.
“I missed a few, but it’s OK,” Gardiner said. “Because even though the burn is important to me, I realized there other important things in my life, too.
Marina Furman, who has been to Burning Man eight times, originally said she prefers the temple burn because it’s a quieter, more solemn event that takes place Sunday. But after the Man started burning Saturday night, she said, “But it never gets boring. The fire dancers are really good this year.”
For a lot of people, Burning Man is a time to disconnect from their lives, discover something new and test their boundaries. Furman said it’s nice to leave her two children at home with their grandparents and reconnect with her partner. She said it’s a luxury not everyone has, but she’s grateful for the time.
“It's my playground where I can do what I want,” she said. “I don’t have responsibilities, so I can stay out until sunrise and don’t have to wake up at 7 a.m. to take care of my kids.”
She said she tries to go every other year, so that Burning Man keeps its magic when she comes back.
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