Burning Man Attendee Found Dead on Event's First Day

A woman was found unresponsive at Burning Man on Sunday morning and pronounced dead by emergency services personnel.

Tragedy struck Burning Man on the first day of the festival as a participant was found unresponsive and pronounced dead. The Pershing County Sheriff’s Department has since identified the woman as 39-year-old Kendra Frazer. The cause of death is still being investigated.

According to the Burning Man Project, emergency services were notified of an unresponsive individual and responded to the call at 11:29am. While life-saving measures were attempted immediately, they were unsuccessful. Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen told the Reno Gazette Journal that his deputies responded and were notified of the death at 11:37am.

“This is the first reported death on the playa this year and unfortunately it has happened on day one,” Allen said to the Reno Gazette Journal. Burning Man also shared their condolences to the family and friends affected by the loss.

Multiple deaths have been reported at Burning Man over the past three decades, many of which stemmed from accidents involving art cars. The most recent was Leon Reece of Truckee, who passed away last year due to a suspected drug intoxication.

Burning Man officially kicked off on Sunday with 20,000 people already on the playa but got off to a muddy start as rainfall led to a 12-hour gate closure prior to that morning. Although attendance is expected to be lower this year, especially with tickets not selling out, an expected 70,000 people will make Black Rock City their home until September 7 when the festival concludes.

Burning Man is offering services to those who need support during this difficult time. Black Rock Rangers are available to provide peer support services at Ranger HQ and Outposts, and Black Rock City’s Emergency Services Department’s Crisis Support team is also available 24/7.

This is a breaking news story that will be updated as more details surface.