A dust storm hit the Black Rock Desert the weekend the festival ended.

Dust covered the festival as rowdy people were urged to stay off the road (Image: AP/Facebook)

Thousands of Burnt Man participants were stranded this weekend when a massive storm blackened roads and covered campsites with sand.

An estimated 80,000 people gathered at the Nevada-based festival to celebrate the arts and creativity in the run-up to Labor Day.

The event is known for a variety of bizarre traditions, such as using a barter system instead of cash and nearly banning phones due to poor signal.

However, the highlight of the festival, the burning of the giant human statue, was almost in jeopardy due to a sudden powerful sandstorm.

Winds of up to 35 mph quickly blanketed the festival in dust, obscuring the road.

Amanda Young, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service in Reno, warned that the “dense” dust layer could be “hundreds of feet thick.”

Later that day, the Burning Man Project Twitter account announced that a “lockout condition” meant the entrance was closed.

“Please don’t drive,” organizers wrote on Twitter.

A group of exhausted men ride their bikes as the sun sets on a dusty afternoon in the desert (Image: AP)

The intensity of the storm caused ‘blackout’ conditions in the camp (Image: AP)

“In the square, the cars stop and you get lost.

“Please postpone your departure until the weather clears up.”

After two years of cancellations due to the coronavirus pandemic, this year’s Burning Man festival drew thousands.

The festival typically draws 70 to 80,000 people to the sandy beaches of Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

Burning Man 2022. Burning Man is an annual event in the western United States focused on community, the arts, self-expression, and self-reliance. The event gets its name from the final night of Burning Man, the culminating ceremony that takes place on the Saturday night before Labor Day. The event has been held in Black Rock City, in northwestern Nevada, since 1991. The city is a temporary city built in the Black Rock Desert about 100 miles (160 km) north-northeast of Reno. As Burning Man co-founder Larry Harvey outlined in 2004, the event will be guided by 10 principles: Radical Engagement, Generosity, Decommodification, Radical Self-Reliance and Radical Self-Expression, Collective Effort, Civic Responsibility, Leave No Trace, Participation, and Immediacy. Black Rock City is located in the western United States Black Rock City Black Rock City is located in the western United States Black Rock City is located in Nevada Black Rock City is located in Nevada Event took place in June 1986 Occurred in San Baker Beach at 22 Francisco when he was little. An event organized by the first human builders, Larry Harvey and Jerry James. Since then, it has been held annually for nine days on and between Labor Days. Attendance has generally increased throughout the history of the event. 78,850 people attended the event in 2019. The 2021 informal event had approximately 20,000 attendees.

Burning Man is an event focused on “community, art, self-expression and self-reliance” (Image: Facebook)

This Aug. 29, 2022 photo courtesy of Maxar Technologies shows Camp Central and the Ring of Rods at the Burning Man Festival in Black Rock City, Nev. (Maxar Technologies via AP)

Thousands of people flocked to the festival after a two-year hiatus due to the pandemic (Image: AP)

A Burning Man staple, art installations and unique costumes offer dramatic photo opportunities, even if this year’s images are partially obscured by dust.

This year’s festival was also held in 100°F (37°C) heat.

Ahead of this year’s event, meteorologists warned it would “feel like an oven” for many attendees.

As part of the tradition, during the festivities only coffee and ice are usually sold.

Previously, people were responsible for their own housing and food. There were also strict rules about leaving no trace and keeping belongings.

Free coffee was offered to partygoers this year, as the United States faces a crisis of its own as it grapples with skyrocketing inflation.

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