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Fears that many thousands of people would "storm" Area 51 in response to a joke Facebook post have proved unfounded, although hundreds of revellers did descend on the secretive military base.

Around two million people had responded online to the joke "Storm Area 51, they can't stop all of us" event to "see them aliens".

Events in the Nevada desert - which took place mainly around two rural towns, Rachel and Hiko - were mostly festive, with crowds numbering in the low thousands and few arrests, officials said.

Three people were arrested on Friday at the remote once-secret military base, Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee said, bringing the tally of accused trespassers to five since Thursday during events dubbed 'Alienstock' and 'Area 51 Basecamp'.

Storm Area 51: September 2019 - In pictures 30 show all Storm Area 51: September 2019 - In pictures 1/30 Women are dressed as aliens at a 'Storm Area 51' spinoff event called 'Alienstock' Getty Images 2/30 Women are dressed as aliens at a 'Storm Area 51' spinoff event called 'Alienstock' Getty Images 3/30 Matty Roberts, creator of the Facebook event entitled Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us addresses the crowd during the Area 51 Celebration at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center Getty Images 4/30 People do the "Naruto run" at the gates of Area 51 REUTERS 5/30 Alien-hunters gather to "storm" Area 51 AFP/Getty Images 6/30 A boy wears a tinfoil hat at the gates of Area 51 REUTERS 7/30 An attendee wears a tinfoil hat at the gates of Area 51 REUTERS 8/30 Getty Images 9/30 AP 10/30 REUTERS 11/30 REUTERS 12/30 AFP/Getty Images 13/30 AFP/Getty Images 14/30 AFP/Getty Images 15/30 AP 16/30 AFP/Getty Images 17/30 AFP/Getty Images 18/30 AFP/Getty Images 19/30 AFP/Getty Images 20/30 AFP/Getty Images 21/30 AFP/Getty Images 22/30 REUTERS 23/30 AFP/Getty Images 24/30 AP 25/30 AP 26/30 AFP/Getty Images 27/30 AFP/Getty Images 28/30 AFP/Getty Images 29/30 AP 30/30 AFP/Getty Images 1/30 Women are dressed as aliens at a 'Storm Area 51' spinoff event called 'Alienstock' Getty Images 2/30 Women are dressed as aliens at a 'Storm Area 51' spinoff event called 'Alienstock' Getty Images 3/30 Matty Roberts, creator of the Facebook event entitled Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us addresses the crowd during the Area 51 Celebration at the Downtown Las Vegas Events Center Getty Images 4/30 People do the "Naruto run" at the gates of Area 51 REUTERS 5/30 Alien-hunters gather to "storm" Area 51 AFP/Getty Images 6/30 A boy wears a tinfoil hat at the gates of Area 51 REUTERS 7/30 An attendee wears a tinfoil hat at the gates of Area 51 REUTERS 8/30 Getty Images 9/30 AP 10/30 REUTERS 11/30 REUTERS 12/30 AFP/Getty Images 13/30 AFP/Getty Images 14/30 AFP/Getty Images 15/30 AP 16/30 AFP/Getty Images 17/30 AFP/Getty Images 18/30 AFP/Getty Images 19/30 AFP/Getty Images 20/30 AFP/Getty Images 21/30 AFP/Getty Images 22/30 REUTERS 23/30 AFP/Getty Images 24/30 AP 25/30 AP 26/30 AFP/Getty Images 27/30 AFP/Getty Images 28/30 AFP/Getty Images 29/30 AP 30/30 AFP/Getty Images

Several minor injuries were reported, and one man was treated for dehydration by festival medics in Rachel before returning to the party.

While costumed space aliens were a common, no one reported seeing actual extraterrestrials or UFOs.

"There's a great sense of community among everyone here," said John Derryberry, who drove with his girlfriend, Sarah Shore, from Nashville, Tennessee.

Almost 100 people went at 3am local time on Friday to the best-known "back gate" of the legendary former top-secret US Air Force base, near Rachel, and another 40 made a more difficult trek to a lesser-known gate in Tikaboo Valley, Sheriff Lee said.

During the day, about 300 went to the Tikaboo gate and another 800 people made the dusty eight mile drive to the Rachel gate.

One woman, aged in her 60s and from California, was arrested after making it clear to sheriff's deputies, her husband and everyone around her that she was going to trespass no matter what.

"It was just something she wanted to do," the sheriff said.

Two men were arrested after military security officers found them in the mountains inside the perimeter of the base somewhere between the two gates.

The gates are marked by bright floodlights, cameras and, at the Rachel gate, a squat tan bunker building with blackout windows - all surrounded by razor wire.

Matty Roberts, a 20-year-old from California, who sparked the Area 51 phenomenon with a late-night Facebook post in June, hosted a Thursday evening event at an outdoor venue in downtown Las Vegas using the Alienstock name.

Area 51 Basecamp featured music, speakers and movies on Friday and Saturday at the Alien Research Centre in Hiko.