Burning Man 2025 was temporarily halted over the weekend due to dust storms and high winds, which severely impacted visibility and wreaked havoc on the campsites.On August 24, 2025, organizers closed the gates of Black Rock City, Nevada, where the annual festival is held, and grounded all airplanes at the temporary airport due to weather concerns. They warned attendees to "secure your structures and belongings" to combat the 50mph winds via updates on X.However, Burning Man 2025 has not been canceled as of this writing. Organizers reopened the gates on August 25, and the airport is now functional as weather conditions have improved, as reported by The Guardian.The brief halt has increased wait time to get into the campgrounds, with Burning Man Traffic's X account providing updates on it:“Wait times from the 8-mile playa entrance on County Route 34 to the Gate are expected to range 6-8 hours today but could change with the weather."Burning Man Traffic @bmantrafficLINKAs of 7:30 am the Black Rock City entrance Gate is open. Due to variable weather conditions over the past few days, wait times from the 8-mile playa entrance on County Route 34 to the Gate are expected to range 6-8 hours today but could change with the weather.The organizers alerted attendees to “keep an eye on the forecast," which predicts “potential precipitation” in the following days. They added that the “weather continues to be unstable” in the coming days."Today’s forecast is similar to Sunday’s. There is anticipated potential precipitation this afternoon and early evening. The weather continues to be unstable and is expected to be unstable for two more days. Please keep an eye on the forecast as you plan your travel to Black Rock City. Plan for additional potential weather-related delays," the update read.Winds ruined a sculpture at Burning Man 2025On August 24, high-speed winds swept through the ongoing Burning Man festival at Black Rock City, Nevada, carrying away temporary tents as attendees shut themselves inside their RVs. In addition to causing heavy damage to campsites, the winds also ruined one of the art installations.According to The New York Post, the art piece, named "Black Cloud," was an inflatable sculpture designed by Ukrainian artist Oleksiy Say to symbolize war. The eight-ton sculpture included flashing strobes and a soundscape featuring warfare sounds taken amid the Russian-Ukrainian conflict.The "Black Cloud," first unveiled at Sophia Square, Kyiv, in June 2025, was 30 meters long and 15 meters in height. Vitaliy Deynega, the art installation's general producer, took to Facebook to share the news of its destruction, which occurred on the same date as Ukraine's Independence Day.“Despite the fact that on paper and according to calculations it should have withstood even such a storm, it turned out differently. It held the wind for the first 15 minutes, and then it was torn in the middle, the storm flew inside and destroyed it completely." (via Observer)Deynega likened the destruction to the Russian-Ukrainian conflict, which began in 2022, writing:“The last time I had such a feeling was exactly three and a half years ago, when I woke up to the first explosions and sirens and realized that external circumstances of insurmountable force decided to make adjustments to life.”Burning Man is expected to host over 70,000 people throughout its eight-day-long festival, which will continue till September 1. According to NBC News, this is not the first time the annual event has experienced hardship due to weather. In 2023, the festival faced torrential rains, which led to heavy flooding that stranded over 70,000 attendees. One person died as a result of the Burning Man flooding.