Big man doesn't disappoint as he burns

The 40-foot Burning Man stick figure lived up to - or died to - his name Saturday evening.

More than 38,300 spectators cheered and whooped at Black Rock City as his legs blazed, then his arms and finally his head. He finally tumbled to the playa with a mushroom of flaming debris.

The Burning Man was almost upstaged Friday night when two explosions rocked the north side of Black Rock City just before dark. Two fireballs exploded about 150 feet up. They were set off by 2Beleve, using 260 gallons of propane mixed with fuel oil and shot of out of tubes.

Jonathan Cooley of Fruitia, Colo., saw the blasts and said, "It was so hot I could feel it 150 feet away. Great big mushroom clouds."

But the firey end to Burning Man was the moment all the alternate lifestyle guests had paid big money to see and the culmination of a week in the Black Rock City of tents and temporary structures near Gerlach. Cost for this year's event ranged from $280 for tickets bought early in the year to almost $500 as the gates closed Saturday.

The theme this year was "Hope & Fear: The Future."

Inside the Cafe - the big tent where people wandered about watching dancers and baton twirlers and buying coffees and juice drinks, the only consumables sold at the event - Dina Amsterdam of San Francisco gave a yoga lesson to her friend Gregory McCord.

Why here?

"I like the spirit and chemistry here," she said as she moved through yoga positions that McCord didn't quite match. "I teach at the Yoga Tree in San Francisco, but I love doing it here."

Nearby, Stambilicious (her Black Rock name) was giggling with some of her 20-something girl friends over her costume - a short, hula skirt with a top of, well, pasties.

"I've never been this naked in public before," she said.

Two men were handing out free pasties made of cutouts of candy wrappers to women. They were free and many women were adding them to their costumes.

Costumes were varied, with angel wings one of the more popular. Juli Vigaro and Angela Sillars both flapped about wearing wings. "I bought mine in Germany just for Burning Man," said Juli.

Meanwhile, a man played a flute to an audience of four on a small stage. On rugs in the circle in the middle of the tent, contortionists did dances, slithering around each other's (clothed) bodies.

Agatha and Mark Wordsworth along with sons Michael, 10, and James, 8, were visiting from South Africa.

"It's part of a vacation trip for us," said Agatha. "And there's nothing here that the boys don't see around home," she said in response to a question about exposing children to some of the more racy aspects of Burning Man.

Out on the playa's clay-like dust that clings to everything, major works of art drew crowds of admirers. One, titled the Shape of the Future, was made of 100 miles of wood 2 by 4s held together with nothing but nails. A lot of wood, one spectator remarked, "I just hope they don't burn it Sunday." The structure was erected and paid for by two Belgian companies. The studs were to be destroyed as unsuitable for construction use. The structure was assembled by more than 70 Belgians.

Tonight, many of the art exhibits scattered about the playa will echo the Burning Man and go up in smoke. The art works range from swinging teeter-totter type structures that people push into action, to towering figures made of scrap metal.

While cars are not allowed to roam Black Rock City, special hybrids or ancient vehicles like a steam-powered Case tractor can roam at will. Other special cars include some that shoot off flames into the air. Big vehicles are converted city buses with platforms built on top.

Most people bring bicycles to get around, including unicycles. Almost all have lights on their bikes and, at night, wear light ropes around the wheels and about the waist or neck.

Black Rock City is not all fun and games.

One death was recorded at this year's event - a young man died Tuesday. Bureau of Land Management agent Jamie Thompson said the man reportedly suffered a head injury and went into convulsions. Pershing County is expected to perform an autopsy.

Jamie Thompson, one of the many BLM officers on hand to police the event with the help of other jurisdictions, said that as of 4 p.m. Friday, 44 citations had been issued. They broke down as 25 for drug violations, 15 felonies for attempting to sneak in Black Rock City from the open playa, two for traffic offenses and four for miscellaneous violations. Two were arrested for attempting to sell the drug Ecstasy.

"We react the same way here that we do at any other Bureau of Land Management event," Thompson said. "We see someone breaking a law, we act."

While new regulations limit Burning Man growth to just 6 percent per year, the 38,300 this year have already gone over that limit. New regulations will be written, Thompson said.

• Contact Sam Bauman at sbauman@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1236.