Two Confirmed Dead as Burning Man Concludes 40th Edition in Nevada's Black Rock Desert

GERLACH, NV — The Burning Man Project and the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office have confirmed that two attendees died during the 40th edition of the annual gathering in the Black Rock Desert, which concluded its weeklong run on Monday, September 7.

More than 70,000 participants traveled to the temporary desert metropolis of Black Rock City, roughly 120 miles north of Reno. As the annual mass exodus got underway across the cracked mud playa, authorities confirmed that two separate fatalities occurred over the holiday weekend.

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|       BURNING MAN 2026 EVENT CASUALTY DOSSIER          |
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|  - Event: Burning Man (40th Annual Gathering)          |
|  - Location: Black Rock City / Black Rock Desert, NV   |
|  - Coordinating Body: Burning Man Project              |
|  - Investigating Agency: Pershing County Sheriff Office|
|  - Total Population on Playa: ~70,000 Participants     |
|  - Fatality 1: Adult Male (Mid-50s)                    |
|      • Occurrence: Friday, September 4                 |
|      • Circumstance: Medical Emergency in Camp         |
|      • Outcome: Pronounced at On-Site Medical Center   |
|  - Fatality 2: Craigh Mann (Age 60)                    |
|      • Occurrence: Saturday, September 5 (~3:00 PM)    |
|      • Circumstance: Discovered Unresponsive in Camp   |
|  - Associated Incident: Severe Fall Trauma from 55-Ft   |
|    "Nest" Art Structure at Square One Camp (Sept. 1)   |
|  - Event Close: Monday, September 7 (Exodus Commenced) |
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Consecutive Fatalities Over Festival Weekend

According to event medical coordinators, the first fatality occurred on Friday, September 4, when an attendee in his mid-50s suffered an acute medical emergency. Festival personnel and emergency medical technicians administered emergency interventions, but the individual was pronounced dead at the on-site emergency care center.

The following day, on Saturday, September 5, around 3:00 PM, campmates at a theme camp located on the playa found a second attendee unresponsive inside his tent. The victim was formally identified by festival organizers as 60-year-old Craigh Mann.

“Our thoughts and deepest condolences are with the participant’s family, friends, campmates, and all those affected by this loss,” the Burning Man Project said in a public statement regarding the weekend casualties.

Structural Incidents and the Great Exodus

In addition to the two fatalities, emergency personnel responded to a critical fall on Tuesday, September 1, when an attendee fell from near the top of a 55-foot elevated “nest” wooden installation at the Square One camp. The victim struck crossbeams during the fall and required technical rope rescue and an aerial platform boom before being evacuated via air ambulance to a regional trauma center.

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|             PLAYA EXODUS LOGISTICS                     |
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|  • Traffic Delays: Gate-to-highway egress on State     |
|    Route 447 averaging 4 to 6 hours during peak pulses |
|  • Law Enforcement: Nevada State Police Highway Patrol |
|    staging saturation patrols along I-80 corridor      |
|  • Investigations: Pershing County Coroner conducting  |
|    toxicology and autopsies for both decedents         |
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The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office is managing the death investigations. Official causes and manners of death for both men will be released pending toxicology screenings and completed autopsies by the regional medical examiner.

Source: Burning Man Project Public Affairs, Pershing County Sheriff’s Office Incident Logs, Associated Press Northern Nevada Bureau.