Dispatches from Burning Man: 60 mph winds, low visibility and whiteouts force gate closure on day 1

Early arrivals to Burning Man take part in "Build Week" ahead of the main event, showing some of the work, art setup and mutant cars that arrive on the playa before most attendees. Early arrivals to Burning Man take part in "Build Week" ahead of the main event, showing some of the work, art setup and mutant cars that arrive on the playa before most attendees. Photo: Sidney Erthal Photo: Sidney Erthal Image 1 of / 87 Caption Close Dispatches from Burning Man: 60 mph winds, low visibility and whiteouts force gate closure on day 1 1 / 87 Back to Gallery

Update as of Aug. 26 at 6:45 p.m.: A tweet from Burning Man's traffic account stated that the entry gate is now open, but new arrivals should expect long delays.

Burning Man attendees are settling into their first day at the weeklong event, but those arriving Sunday were hit with high winds, and plenty of dust and smoke — triggering organizers to close the entrance to the camp for hours Sunday afternoon.

Long wait times at the gate into Burning Man are a natural byproduct of welcoming an estimated 70,000 attendees onto the playa, with estimated waits extending to six hours at its peak. By 3:30 p.m. Sunday afternoon, however, the Twitter account monitoring traffic announced that "extreme weather" was forcing the gate to close amid rolling whiteouts.

GATE CURRENTLY CLOSED.

Extreme weather is expected to continue for several hours. We are not allowing access from CR34 onto the playa and advise all to hold in Reno or return there if enroute. If on Gate Road, please shelter in place until conditions allow operation to resume. — Burning Man Traffic (@bmantraffic) August 26, 2018

"Extreme weather is expected to continue for several hours," read the tweet. "We are not allowing access from CR34 onto the playa and advise all to hold in Reno or return there if enroute. If on Gate Road, please shelter in place until conditions allow operation to resume."

By about 4:20 p.m., the Nevada Highway Patrol's Northern Command tweeted that the "extreme weather" consisted of 50- to 60-mile-per-hour winds that left drivers with "zero visibility" and cautioned that "travel conditions are extremely hazardous." Later tweets from the Burning Man traffic account asked Burners to remain in nearby cities, warning that cars are being turned away and that the weather could last "for several hours."

A livestream broadcasting from the Burning Man grounds showed some of the dusty conditions in Black Rock City Sunday afternoon.

The winds were initially estimated to hit 25 to 35 miles per hour and were expected to affect the playa until Monday night, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported. Add onto that the smoke from Northern California and southeast Oregon wildfires, which created a haziness that welcomed Burners "home."

The winds are expected to calm to the typical desert wind and temperatures that Burners are used to, bouncing back to the mid-80s during the day, with moderate winds, meteorologists said.

Photographer Sidney Erthal, a 14-year Burning Man veteran, shared some early images of the Burning Man event from its "Build Week" ahead of Saturday's midnight opening of the Burning Man gates. The colorful and showy cadre of cars typical of Burning Man lined up for registration at the "Department of Mutant Vehicles" creating an impromptu show of the moving art shows allowed on the playa for this year.

Take a look through the slideshow above for a preview of some of the mutant vehicles and art in its various stages of being built for the week.