The woman who died mysteriously on the first day of the Burning Man festival, just hours after thousands of people had packed into the crumbling desert camp, has been identified.
Authorities said Kendra Frazer, 39, was found unconscious at 11.29am on Sunday and organisers said “life-saving measures were immediately attempted but were unsuccessful”.
Frazer’s next of kin have been notified, but police have not said where the woman was from.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office arrived and confirmed the woman’s death and began investigating “until the cause and manner can be determined.”
“Our thoughts and condolences are with the family and friends affected by this loss,” festival organizers said in a statement. “We are fully cooperating with local authorities as they investigate this incident.”
The woman who died mysteriously on the first day of the Burning Man festival, just hours after thousands of people crammed into the crumbling desert camp, has been identified.
Authorities say Kendra Frazer, 39, was found unconscious at 11.29am on Sunday and organisers said “life-saving measures were immediately attempted but were unsuccessful”.
“The name of the participant is being withheld at this time until the next of kin of the deceased can be notified,” said Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen.
‘Our thoughts and prayers are with the family and friends of the deceased.
“This is the first reported death on the beach this year and unfortunately it happened on the first day.”
Burning Man organizers said counseling services were available at the festival for anyone who needed them.
“The safety and well-being of our staff and the community is paramount. We are fully cooperating with local authorities as they investigate this incident,” he said.
The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office investigates all deaths that occur within its jurisdiction.
About half a dozen other deaths have been reported at the festival since it moved from San Francisco’s Baker Beach to the Black Rock Desert in 1990.
Last year, Leon Reece, a 32-year-old man from California, died of suspected drug poisoning after being found unconscious on the festival grounds.
Burning Man organizers said counseling services were available at the festival for anyone who needed them.
About half a dozen other deaths have been reported at the festival since it moved from San Francisco’s Baker Beach to the Black Rock Desert in 1990.
The festival, which combines wilderness camping with a weeklong celebration of art for art’s sake, began early Sunday after gates were closed for 12 hours due to rain and muddy conditions.
It is estimated that there were already 20,000 people on the beach before the gates were officially opened to all ticket holders.
Burning Man runs through September 2. Organizers expect more than 70,000 people to attend this year’s event.
Known for its colorful themed camps, towering sculptures, drum circles, art cars and cutting-edge theater, it has grown from a gathering of about 4,000 people in 1995 to 50,000 in 2010 and is now temporarily Nevada’s third-largest city after the Las Vegas and Reno metropolitan areas.
There are fears the iconic festival is reaching its final stages, with demand for tickets at an all-time low just a week before the event kicks off.
Last year, fed-up revelers fled Nevada’s Black Rock Desert after torrential rains turned the event into a muddy mess – and now it seems the magic has been lost.
Tickets for Burning Man are usually in high demand, but in an unprecedented move, the festival has released last-minute tickets.
As organisers of the week-long festival, known for drug use and huge orgies, make desperate attempts to sell tickets, a Facebook group is full of people trying to sell them.
The festival, which combines wilderness camping with a weeklong celebration of art for art’s sake, began early Sunday after gates were closed for 12 hours due to rain and muddy conditions.
A security guard keeps people away during the annual Burning Man Festival on September 4, 2023
Prices start at $575 before taxes and fees, and vehicle passes cost an additional $150. This time, people are willing to sell them below face value or at “best offer” for the Aug. 25 festival.
Burning Man has a reputation as an anti-capitalist festival, but many of its regular attendees are now complaining that they were scammed out of money for tickets they bought at full price.
One person even offered him $200 for the ticket, to which he replied in frustration: “Decommodification goes both ways.”
According to the ’10 principles of Burning Man’, or the Principles of the festivalDecommodification ‘protects Burning Man culture from being used to promote, support, or market a person, product, company, or any type of commercial endeavor.’
During last year’s festival, partygoers attacked each other after organisers pleaded with those trying to leave the filthy camp to be patient amid panic over food and water shortages.
Attendees were initially ordered not to leave after exit roads were rendered impassable by a half-inch of rain.
Those who chose to leave before the “burning,” in which the effigy that gives the festival its name is set alight, waited in queues for five hours to reach the open road.
People were urged not to attempt to walk away from the festival, while celebrity attendees including Chris Rock, actor Austin Butler and DJ Diplo attempted to escape.
Due to heavy rain and muddy conditions, crews were delayed in responding to a distress call for Reece, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The festival had to deal with an intense heatwave and strong winds in 2022, making the experience difficult for “burners,” as festival-goers are known.
The gathering, which originated as a small function in 1986 on a San Francisco beach, has a budget of $45 million and is attended by celebrities and social media influencers.
There are no financial transactions and guests are encouraged to barter to get what they need. Burning Man regulars complained that the festival had become gentrified and bankrupt in recent years, ahead of a drop in demand in 2024.