Burning Man’s 2026 edition in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert has been marked by two unrelated deaths. A man in his mid-50s died on September 3 after suffering a medical emergency on site; organisers say he received immediate lifesaving treatment before being taken to the event’s onsite emergency care centre, where he was later pronounced dead. Two days later, 60-year-old Craigh Mann was found dead at his camp by fellow campmates at around 3pm on September 5.
Neither cause of death has been made public, and authorities say there’s no indication of foul play or any connection between the two incidents.
The deaths cap off a rough year for the festival. This edition also saw severe weather disruption, a participant seriously injured after falling from a 55-foot structure, and dozens of arrests tied to alleged drug sales and trafficking. It follows comments earlier this month from Burning Man co-founder John Law, who wrote in the San Francisco Standard that the event had “lost its soul” and was barely recognisable from its original counterculture roots. 
