Gate, Perimeter, and Exodus

Gate staff usher thousands of people from the blacktop to the playa. Some mistake us for Greeters, some refer to us as security, and to some we are those folks in black who search your cars and tear your tickets. It is mostly the latter, but we do so much more than that. The Gate itself is situated between one and three miles outside the city on Gate Road. There, several containers house our supplies and provide shelter, and the Apex kiosks between the lanes mark the beginning of Gate processing. 

Gate procedures fulfill various stipulations of the BLM permit. Our top priority is to ensure each inhabitant of Black Rock City gets in safely and with the proper credentials (read: ticket in hand). We search vehicles for stowaways, potential MOOP-makers (Matter Out Of Place), firearms, fireworks, and dogs. We ensure all Mutant Vehicles entering are pre-registered with the DMV. We get the ice trucks, water trucks, and “poop pumpers” into the city as rapidly as possible. All this while making sure that traffic on the highway doesn’t back up.

Perimeter Scouts watch the city’s boundaries and ensure anyone entering or exiting the city uses the correct routes. Perimeter’s tasks include patrolling the fence line, intercepting those who attempt to gain unlawful entry into the city, and helping participants who wander outside the fence. Perimeter works with the Bureau of Land Management to monitor the 51,000-acre closure area around the event site.

Exodus supports Burning Man participants—starting at Greeters—as they make their way on Gate Road to pavement from Saturday Burn night through Tuesday post-event. We closely monitor traffic flow to ensure the process is running smoothly and fairly, and to maintain the stipulated number of vehicles that can be released per hour to County Route 34. Our Traffic Operations Center tracks egress traffic from Greeters to State Route 447, reporting any circumstances that might affect efficient traffic flow (accidents, breakdowns, wildfires, etc.) We operate the Gate Advisory Radio Station, or GARS, at 95.1 FM, providing regular updates on wait times and weather, and any extraordinary events that may delay traffic. Our Pulsing teams strategically hold and move traffic—saving fuel and keeping vehicles from overheating. And the last contact participants have as they hit the pavement are our Nevada-certified highway Flaggers, keeping the intersection safe and flowing for participants and other users of County Route 34.