Black Rock City 2013 Population

Black Rock City 2013 (photo credit: Reuters)
Black Rock City 2013 (photo credit: Reuters)

The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) and Black Rock City, LLC (BRC) have stated that the 2013 Burning Man event peak population was 69,613. BLM will be reviewing the peak population number in association with the special recreation permit stipulations for the 2013 event.

Prior to reaching the peak population number during the event, BLM and BRC coordinated and implemented contingency plans, which included collaborative managing of the gate entrance, opening additional camping areas and streets within the city, deploying additional porta-potties, pumper trucks and medical vehicles. This coordination and the contingency actions were to further facilitate a safe and healthy event and city.

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16 Comments on “Black Rock City 2013 Population

  • Dan says:

    I’d thought the population cap this year was 68,000 how does that creep up to 69,613?

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  • Nick N says:

    2000 LEOs?

    I was told that later in the week people with tickets were not being let in until an equal number of people left the event. Is this true? This would piss me off greatly if it happened to me.

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  • Kathy says:

    More rv service trucks, please. Otherwise, everything was as fantastic as usual….

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  • Serge Lake says:

    great layout area and streets

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  • simon of the playa says:

    lets forget about the actual number and instead look at the significance and symbolic nature of the Numbers 696 and 13, respectively from a numerological and Mystical standpoint.

    what does it mean?

    is it a sign?

    and what does “F(6)I(9)F(6)A(1)C(3)” REALLY Represent?

    curious, and curiouser…

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  • Human Jones says:

    Remember, the 68,000 thousand cap stands for number of people, not tickets sold. This includes ticket holders, law enforcement, delivery people, etc..

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  • Crissa says:

    So, do we get statistics on law enforcement officers to population? Tickets issued? Arrests made? Etc?

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  • zoe says:

    I’d love to hear theft statistics too…. I was not alone in having valuable items stolen from our camp for the first time ever. I’ve heard many many many similar stories and am very curious if I just got unlucky this year, or if this is a new trend.

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  • openmike says:

    Also does this include the tourist, Yes burning man allows “observers” in like last year when the tourist bus came. Yes folks we have become a zoo…..reno chamber of commerce and entourage in for 8 hours this year, Also lets not forget the RV delivery boys for the rich and famous….. the famous rapper that came this year spent $35,000 on his rv rental…delivered!!!yes makin’ big money off of burning man and all of you….Yes, come all for the greatest show on earth take a look at all the freaks and tits!!! dont spend much time here and go, dont worry about learning any of the principles of BM because the org doesnt follow them any way!

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  • openmike says:

    zoe, stats are being compiled right now but you wont here about them for at least another year. Face it the city has huge growing pains and that includes a large number of deaths this year. However this city is governed by a corporation not elected officials accountable to its citizens and therefore minimizing liability through secrecy IS the priority. We are all pawns of the corporation

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  • Diver Don says:

    Responding to Zoe, we too had some items removed from our camp late Sat/early Sunday. It put a very sad ending to our and our neighbors burn as we supplied the landmarks for finding home in our area only to have them removed. To remove them to prevent theft would negate their benefit as landmarks, so why bother.
    I know in my heart these folks are coming to burning man to be thieves and not be community members. Our population would be better off without these folks.
    Zoe sorry for your misfortune as well

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  • Patty says:

    The city felt crowded as of Tues night. It looked like a Thurs on esplanade. For the first time in eight years, I felt nervous and unsafe walking around at night. I don’t mind the event having moderate planned growth, but I think at some point you lose the principles it was founded upon and lose the sense of community that has kept me coming back year after year. This year, with that population, felt like that point.

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  • Mosey says:

    To Nick N: yes, it was confirmed and printed as a story in the Black Rock Beacon that the event was indeed oversold and that ~ like a cheesy nightclub ~ people had to leave before people came in. Doing the math….that means 190 (reported as the line at the gate) more cars in the city come exodus than there would be had those people left and other people had not been let in. I think the gates should close on Friday before the burn. It takes a few days to acclimate to the environment and time to be invested in the culture and community.

    As for crime, it’s always been there. The large theme camp I was part of started noticing changes in 2008 and 2009 and implemented greater security. Confirmation Bias caused you to notice it more this year because it happened to you.

    All that said, I felt that the infrastructure crumbled under the combined weight of the population and managerial changes. The portos were the worst I’ve ever seen. Consistently not clean, no TP (I always bring my own anyway), and sometimes even full. As for RV pumpouts, that’s a luxury item. Pack it in pack it out people.

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  • Hihoreno says:

    as a 18 year participant, I have seen many changes. the anxiety of getting tickets is overwhelming. too much social media for my taste. What is with the walls of RV’s with the camps inside and no interaction with the street? were there fewer POOP SHACKS? RV users, please invest in some blue stuff for your toilets. Burning Man is based on participation and interaction. MOOP before you leave. someone left a couch and nasty huge Tupperware of black water. LEAVE NO TRACE. RADICAL INCLUSION,NOT ISOLATION.

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  • Hihoreno says:

    GREAT BURN. lots of wonderful art and giant art cars, who formed a wall around the burn blocking access in some places for those of us on foot. they could perhaps be a little spaced out and maybe a little further from the burn. I never was able to get on one as I am older now and no longer sparkle after 18 years. I have participated in every way and now host a camp of 25. I MOOped the playa on Sunday. some folks asked me what I was doing and I handed them a bag, showed them some of my loot and made new MOOPers. This is a great event that I look forward to every year. I got tired of folks trying to make me safe. If I wanted to be safe, I would have stayed home. Lots of watchers this year and way too many police handing out tickets for minor offenses. Purshing County looking for money. please give them more money so they wont hassle everyone so much.

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  • Jacques says:

    My first Burn! And a thousand thanks to the Arctica manager who, in spite of the hours of online and F2F pre-event research I conducted, was the first person to make the connection for me between dehydration, loss of appetite, and exhaustion. (“Eat little bits throughout the day” was her sage advice.)

    Just wanted to relate that Sunday evening my dirty old bike got stolen (even though locked) from 9:00 + Esplanade. I found it about 50 yards away – on the playa – Monday evening. Someone had moved it there so that they could take their time in removing a big pink bell (that went ding-dong! cost $10) and a couple of cheap bike horns, without fear that I might return and catch them red-handed. What kind of a person steals stuff like that off of such a crappy bike? But I sigh, and assume that s/he needed those things more than I did.

    And thanks in advance to Lawyers for Burners who, I understand, may be influential in getting my $525 citation for marijuana possession reduced. We low-income ticket recipients salute you! (And will see you next year for Burn #2!)

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