RENO, Nev. (AP) — Spectators were encouraged to stay seated for the Burning Man 2018 finale, with watchful rangers and medical staff ready to tackle anyone making a run for the flaming pyre in Nevada's Black Rock Desert.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports the crowd late Saturday and early Sunday was just below a 70,000 threshold, and security was tightened — a year after a 41-year-old man ran into the flames during the annual torching of a towering wooden effigy.
A volunteer ranger calling himself "Land Cruiser" said that with everyone seated, monitors could see unusual movement or someone running.
Rangers yelled at people who stood up and led spectator chants of, "If everyone sits, everyone sees."
Attendance reached the 70,000 limit on Thursday, prompting federal land managers to ask festival organizers to restrict entries.