Burning Man Sees Fourth Death In Four Years, Festival Gate Closed Again Due To Weather

A Burning Man attendee has died, marking the festival's fourth death in four years. The man passed away on Friday (Sept. 4) after a medical emergency, and no foul play is suspected. Last year's homicide remains unsolved. In addition, the gate into and out of Black Rock City was closed on Thursday (Sept. 3) because of strong winds and whiteout conditions, and again today due to rain. Beyond the recurring weather problems, there is more handwringing than ever about what's become of Burning Man. Last week Burning Man cofounder John Law wrote a guest piece for the San Francisco Standard about how the "festival lost its soul": "What began as an anarchistic collaboration of equals has become a commercialized escape hatch for the wealthy." Likewise, festivalgoers are now very old and male, or as the New York Post's headline puts it, "Burning Man has become a wrinkled sausage fest of aging millennial men, data shows."This year's festival had five sets from Diplo. He posted about his struggles leaving the festival on his Instagram Story: "Here I am, walking out of Burning Man again ... six miles in, we're almost to the road ... It's fucked up, but I love it. Life presents many challenges, y...