"Imagine a hallucinogenic state fair,” reporter Rick Marin wrote about Burning Man in The New York Times in 2000.
The article described an environment of countercultural revelry, where hippies and Silicon Valley types cut loose in surroundings reminiscent of both "Mad Max” and Cirque du Soleil.
But this year’s festival, held in a remote desert in Nevada, has been a very different scene. The event was pummeled by rain that began Friday night, leaving thousands of attendees trapped and dealing with thick sludge. With limited access to the site, attendees have been told to conserve food and water. Police are investigating the death of one participant.