Mother Nature caused a pause for Burning Man.
Winds whipped up a massive dust storm that tossed tents and art installations, SF Gate reported.
The National Weather Service called it a “wall of blowing dust."
Winds of up to 50 mph stirred dust in the Black Rock Desert so fiercely that Burning Man participants reported not being able to see beyond a foot. https://t.co/xAjN6pwNBx
— San Francisco Chronicle (@sfchronicle) August 25, 2025
Four people had minor injuries from the dust storm on Saturday that closed access to the site for about two hours.
“There were wind gusts over 45 mph for a sustained period of time,” a Burning Man spokesperson told the publication. “Participants and staff were advised to batten down their camps and avoid driving during low visibility.”
At least one art installation was destroyed and communal shade areas, as well as dining areas, were damaged. Some EMT structures were “totally bent and destroyed,” Major Trouble, a San Francisco-based DJ shared.
An 8-ton inflatable thundercloud made by a Ukrainian-led team and symbolizing the “specter of world war” lasted about 15 minutes before the dust storm destroyed it, according to the San Francisco Chronicle.
“During the storm, we did not expect it to get as bad as it was,” Angie Peacock told the newspaper via text message. “We were expecting 35 mph winds according to the radar we were watching so we made sure everything was secure around our camp. Very quickly things turned for the worst, It became complete white out conditions. We couldn’t see about 15 feet in front of us. We saw structures being ripped and torn down by the wind speeds even though we buttoned everything down as best as we could.”
As people waited for the gates to open on Sunday, the line of traffic trying to get into the site had a wait time of more than seven hours, according to SF Gate.
Similar weather conditions are expected through Tuesday, according to the Reno Gazette-Journal.
“It’s becoming increasingly likely that we could see an even greater flash flood threat,” the National Weather Service wrote online early Sunday morning, according to the Chronicle. “If you’re on the playa at the Black Rock Desert, you may very well be in for a muddy mess Monday through Wednesday.”
Monday’s NWS forecast still predicted thunderstorms and potential flash flooding and blowing dust.
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