All The Wild, Biblical Omen-Like Events That Happened At Burning Man 2025
There's something spiritual going on at Burning Man this year, and these freaky signs are making people wonder if it's divine intervention.
80,000 people in the desert (most of them probably on something, let’s be real), effigies in flames, a crime scene, and a baby born amid the chaos: Burning Man 2025 feels like a modern-day Hieronymus Bosch painting. Even The Cut is questioning what's going on in their latest piece, "What in the Wrath of God is Happening at Burning Man?" Meanwhile, Nicole Shanahan (RFK Jr.’s 2024 running mate and former spouse of Google co-founder Sergey Brin) called the festival “demonic” this week.
So what exactly went down in Black Rock City?
The Orgy Dome Collapses in the Wind
Burning Man’s infamous Orgy Dome, which had been a fixture since 2003, didn’t even make it through the festival’s first night this year. According to organizers, high winds ripped away the main tarp and damaged the piping, leaving only benches and the “ORGY DOME” sign behind. It's been previously reported that nearly 5,000 people passed through the structure last year, but this time, attendees were left without it. The debauchery was canceled. If that’s not an omen, what is? I mean, even without omens, who would want to participate in a dusty, dirty group romp with strangers on splintered benches under a half-collapsed tarp, anyway?
A Surprise Birth in an RV
Three days into the festival, Kayla Thompson woke up with abdominal pain in her RV. She later discovered she was in labor, despite never knowing she was pregnant. Her sister-in-law told KTVU the baby, named Aurora, weighed just 3 pounds, 9.6 ounces, and was airlifted to a Reno NICU. Burning Man organizers themselves called it “a beautiful miracle.” A miracle, yes, but in the middle of dust storms and effigies burning? How chaotic!
A Homicide Investigation in Black Rock City
On Saturday night, the Pershing County Sheriff’s Office responded to reports of a man “lying in a pool of blood,” ABC News reported. Deputies found a deceased white adult male at a campsite as the Man effigy burned. Forensic investigators processed the scene, and law enforcement increased their presence in the area. No arrests have been made at this time. The grim timing turned the symbolic “burn” into something much darker.
Guns and Drugs on the Esplanade
The Esplanade (also known as Burning Man’s “main street”) became the site of a felony arrest when deputies stopped a vehicle around 2 a.m. Monday, according to SFGATE. They say they found “large quantities” of drugs, items suggesting intent to distribute, and two firearms. The suspect, a convicted felon, was charged with multiple counts, including firearm possession by a prohibited person. His bail was set at $92,500.
Even before the gates opened, the signs were there. On Aug. 20, a man headed to Burning Man was arrested in Lyon County with a van allegedly containing 104 grams of crack cocaine and “substantial” other drugs, per SFGATE. He was booked into jail, adding another dark prelude to the week.
Weather That Felt Biblical
High winds hit 52 mph on Aug. 23, shredding tents and filling the playa with dust before the festival even began, Outside reported. Rain later turned the desert floor into thick, peanut-butter mud that left sneakers caked in two-inch layers. Attendees compared it to a “zombie apocalypse,” and even mainstream outlets called it a “bad omen” for the week ahead. Nature itself seemed to be saying, "Do NOT go here." Maybe it's time we listen.