For your convenience and sheer relief, there are a plethora of porta-potties distributed throughout Black Rock City. They can be found on radial streets, off the 2:00 and 10:00 arms, and out in the open playa. They’re emptied round-the-clock by a fleet of trucks who make a continuous 24/7 circuit once the city fills up. Please be considerate of other BRC residents and their porta-potty needs by keeping the lid down, and not dumping garbage in the potties. The rule of thumb is “if it didn’t come out of your body, it doesn’t go in the potty!” And that includes baby wipes!
You are welcome to bring a recreational vehicle. Be aware, however, that there is no dumping station on-site, and you will not be allowed to dump on the playa – the BLM does issue citations for the dumping of gray or black water. RV servicing will be available for a fee.
There is no location for scheduling RV servicing appointments. We’ve tried to have a sign-up booth at Playa Info in the past and it was horribly inefficient and wasted a lot of people’s time.
Just flag ’em down!
The trucks that service RV’s make their rounds between 9am and 9pm, and they have an amber flashing light on the top and a big “RV ONLY” sign on the side. The trucks patrol their “zones” in the city all day, and you can flag them down for service as they roam their quadrants, or stop them while they’re in the broader neighborhood and request a local visit. In case of dire emergency/missed opportunity, you can also pedal out to Fire & Services, where you will find a Help Desk and make an appointment (out past the outer road and 6:30).
Make sure that there is someone at your camp to show the driver where to pump AND to pay for the servicing. Keep in mind that the sanitation vendor only accepts cash so plan accordingly. Also, if they can’t get to your rig they’re not going to be able to service it. Leave a space for the service truck to get to your RV; pump hoses cannot reach beyond 30 feet.
With the extremely hot temperatures on the playa during the day, it’s no wonder the majority of activity takes place after dark.
Each evening, as darkness approaches, you will spy a solemn group of white-robed individuals with poles slung over their shoulders, wending their way through the city to provide us with illumination.
The Lamplighters have been a familiar sight in Black Rock City since 1993. They light and place kerosene lanterns atop the wooden spires that line the most heavily trafficked areas of town. The lanterns burn through the night, and light up Black Rock City in a silent and beautiful fashion, without draining the power grid.
For more information on volunteering for the Lamplighters, click here.
Black Rock City’s Emergency Services Department (ESD) is available before the event officially starts, and is on duty until the last participant leaves. ESD provides fire protection, medical evaluation and treatment, mental health services, an Emergency 911 Dispatch facility, and the communications infrastructure for Black Rock City.
The ESD is a separate department from the Black Rock Rangers, who are Burning Man’s non-confrontational mediating entities.
In Black Rock City you can find ESD stations on 3:00 and 9:00 at the intersection just beyond the plazas, and at Center Camp at 6:00.
For more information, please email 911(at)burningman(dot)com.
Stay healthy and safe while you camp and explore the many opportunities for participation at Burning Man! This section will give you the information you need to keep yourself healthy, and tell you where to find emergency services, should you need them.
Remember radical self-reliance! Bring a first aid kit and any medications you may need (the closest pharmacies are in Fernley or Reno, and there is no clinic in Gerlach).
Should your illness or injury be more severe than you can manage without help, there are Emergency Services medical stations on the 3:00+C and 9:00+C plazas, and on the Esplanade at 5:15. All stations are identifiable by a red cross on top of the buildings. The stations are staffed by emergency health care providers (doctors, nurses, medics, etc.) who donate their time and medical expertise to the city as their gift to us all.
Bringing fuel or other hazardous materials? Read the guidelines for fuel and hazmat storage.
If you require a higher level of care than can be provided on the playa, you will need to visit a hospital in Reno, either by getting a ride from a friend, or being transported by an ambulance, plane, or helicopter (depending on your condition). If you are able, request to sign a “Consent to Release Information” form so we can tell your friends and family where you are and what happened (by law, we can’t provide information about you without your consent). Bring your ID, insurance card, cell phone, and wallet when you go. If you get transported by ambulance, plane, or helicopter, you’ll need to arrange for a friend to pick you up after your care. There are no shuttles from the hospitals back to the playa.
Volunteering at Burning Man doesn’t stop with the volunteering for the Man. Volunteering can take on many forms. From helping your neighbor to tie down his testy shade structure, to lending a hand (and a hammer) to that artist gal down the street putting the finishing touches on her masterpiece, it’s all volunteering at Burning Man!
We want to take this time to bring to your attention to the many wonderful people working hard to build theme camps, art cars, and art installations for the Burning Man event. These folks need volunteers (volunteers like you!), and the best way to learn about the needs of different Theme Camps is to go to the Theme Camp ePlaya.
The Temple rises apart from Black Rock City, an oasis of calm out in the deep playa that stands resolute, able to bear what participants bring and to be what we need at the moment we call on it.
Behind the Temple stands a group that has quietly watched over those structures each year since 2002. The main duty of the Temple Guardians is to protect the Temple and those who visit it. We abide with love for the Temple and everything that it represents.
Temple Guardian shifts run 4 hours each, 24 hours a day.
During your shift, there are a number of duties you may be asked to perform. Guardians keep watch for injuries and unsafe conditions, including fire, climbing, vehicle traffic, and problems with the structure. We do not make rules, nor are we enforcers; we watch quietly and act skillfully when necessary to protect the safety and sacred space of the Temple.
Most of all we provide the Temple with grounding and love. From our humble beginnings, we have always followed a philosophy that calls for using small pushes from a great distance. Sometimes your look, your soft words, or even just your presence is all that is required to hold the sacred space of the Temple. When we do interact with participants, we do so with love and respect. We carry in our hearts the sacred space of the Temple with us into every interaction, using our connection with the grounded, serene space to guide and shape our interactions with participants.
On Sunday, we help maintain the safety perimeter with the Black Rock Rangers and Temple crew for the Temple burn.
If the Temple has a special place in your heart, join us and help hold the space so that others might experience the wonder that brings us back.
To join our team, please fill out the Burning Man Volunteer Questionnaire and mark down “Temple Guardians” as your department of interest.
Do you really want to give something back to this community?
VOLUNTEER!!!
Recycle Camp is a hard working group of folks who are as committed to reducing waste as they are to having a good time. Founded in 1998, Recycle Camp is the place to take your aluminum cans on the Playa. Each year, the proceeds are donated to the Gerlach school! With volunteer opportunities pre-event to post-event, you can get your Recycle Camp-fu on all year long!
Pre-Event: Get involved by connecting with the key players at Recycle Camp. Things actually begin in December with budgets and camp plans. Any new ideas for the coming year need to be discussed early. We encourage everyone who is curious about Recycle Camp to contact us and find out what’s going on.
During the Event: Recycle Camp is one of the best and most rewarding places to volunteer in Black Rock City. This year we are pushing for more drop-in volunteers. Our core team needs you to help us to keep up with the growing population of Black Rock City. We need a ton of help to deal with the more than six tons of aluminum we collect and crush. We typically run two daily 4-hour shifts, Monday through Sunday, 9am to 1pm and 1pm to 5pm. Shift leads will be on hand to coordinate drop-in volunteers. If you’re thinking about volunteering at Recycle Camp please be prepared to get your hands a little dirty, yes, it’s juicy! Join us and put in some fun time making Black Rock City sustainable.
Post-Event: After the Temple burns, it’s time to break down camp and leave no trace. This is a rewarding process that sets an example to the rest of the community. It takes several days to reduce Recycle Camp to nothing, and pack it up so that we can reuse it next year. Care to lend a hand? We’d love to have you! Stop by!
Are you great at trivia? Consider yourself an ‘Infomaniac’? Come be a know-it-all at Playa Info, and get all the insider info on all things Black Rock City under our shade in the city center at Esplanade and 5:45! At Playa Info, we handle all sorts of critical stuff that helps make our home in the desert run smoothly, and help educate and advance the principles and culture of the Burning Man project.
Playa Info is a great place to meet Burners from all over the world. We are Black Rock City’s only official Lost & Found service and Locksmith/Tow operation. Our amazing digital directory helps people find camps and events, burners find other burners, riders find ride-shares, and people find lost stuff. On our bulletin boards you’ll find event lists including The Rockstar Librarian Music Guide, the WhatWhereWhen Guide, and more!
We have gigs for all kinds of folks – whether you’re uber-experienced and want to answer questions and provide information/directions as one of our famous Oracles or do the same thing on-the-move as a Playa Info Ambassador, or have fewer years of BRC time under your belt and want to wrangle lines (or something in between)! If your plans involve coming early or staying late, we always need extra hands for build and especially for strike/restoration. We have a place for you at Playa Info.
Playa Info is open daily during the event from 9:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and also some evening hours mid-week. Shifts with Playa Info are 5 hours long and feature breaks and snacks and shade and most importantly, a great vibe in the center of the action!
We’d love to have you join our team, please fill out a volunteer information form and select Playa Info as your area of interest. NOTE: you’ll need to create–and be signed into–a Burner Profile in order to proceed.
The Media Team is composed of a daring, dedicated, professional, fun-loving and largely well-behaved set of volunteers. Since 1997, our motley group of journalists, marketers, flacks, sociologists, technical writers, filmmakers, artists, anthropologists, IT professionals, art experts, budding rock stars, freaks, geeks, and ne’erdowells have helped members of the media plug in to the event, participate, and hopefully come away with a good story.
Media Mecca is Black Rock City’s press room. Open from 10 a.m. (ish) to 5 p.m. (ish), Media Mecca is the landing zone for all press covering Burning Man. At the Mecca, members of the media can find out what’s going on, recharge batteries and file stories. Media Team members point press in the direction of participants from their region, connect them with artists and take them on a tour of the major art installations. We do not baby the press, coddle them, suggest story ideas or drive folks around on a golf cart.
The Media Team is always on the lookout for new talent. Currently, we’re especially interested in meeting new folks with a background in press and journalism, or experience in film, communications, the arts, PR, politics, or IP law. You’re not a media expert? No problem! We can also use your two hands if you’d just like to help support people who are.
A community is defined, largely, by its traditions. Black Rock City is a place rich in tradition, and participants looking to take an active role in the community have many choices before them. The Lamplighters have been an important part of Burning Man almost as long as Burning Man has been held in the desert. More than a public utility, the Lamplighters are a symbol of community, of participation, and clear sign that the day has passed, and that evening magic will soon be upon us.
The Lamplighters began in 1993, with a small group of participants placing a dozen or so kerosene lanterns on the ground each evening, illuminating a pathway towards The Man. In the intervening years, Black Rock City has grown, and while many things have changed, the Lamplighters remain, though few at the time could have imagined how the Lamplighters would develop, and rise to the challenge of an expanding city.
The Lamplighters are more than a handful of volunteers; they are a team of well over 100 participants every evening of the festival. And the dozen or so lanterns from 1993 have grown to nearly 1000. To accomplish this considerable task, we ask for your help, and we invite you to be a part of this community, this event, and our tradition. Before the event closes, after The Man burns, more than 1000 people will have helped the Lamplighters accomplish their important work.
The Lamplighters begin EVERY EVENING of the event in their center camp workspace at around 5pm. The ceremony begins around 6, and soon the work is done. No experience is required. We welcome virgin and seasoned burners alike. One thing is certain though. We can’t do it without YOU.
If you’d like to be a Lamplighter, please take the time to fill out the Volunteer Questionnaire, and be sure to mark ‘Lamplighters’ as the group with which you want to volunteer.
Q. I know the Lamplighters have several work meetings in San Francisco before Burning Man. I live in [any city anywhere in the world not near SF], and can’t make the meetings. Can I still be a Lamplighter?
A. Absolutely. The work meetings are attended by local and some not-so-local volunteers who represent a small percentage of the total number of folks we will need to pull off our job at the event. We do want you to try to attend, and usually there are a variety of Burning Man-related events to make it more enticing, but we certainly understand that everyone won’t be able to attend meetings. The most important aspect of our job takes place at the event. There will be plenty to do there.
Q. What do Lamplighters do?
A. Search for “lamplighters” in the website’s image gallery. We parade along the main pedestrian ways of Black Rock City every night hanging lanterns. Each night we need 150 volunteers to maintain and place nearly 1000 kerosene lanterns. We do everything involved in lighting the streets at night at Burning Man. If you’ve been to Burning Man before, you’ve seen our lanterns, and if you haven’t been to the event, suffice to say there are A LOT of lanterns. Lamplighting has been a part of Burning Man since 1993, a time-honored tradition.
Q. Do I have to sign up for a shift? (interesting question…greeters, rangers, and lots of other groups do have advance sign up)
A. No. Just be aware that we do Lamplighting before, after, and every day of Burning Man and we start around 5, or after the hot part of the day. When you arrive at Lamplighters Workspace, in center camp, there will be a daily sign up for which area of the city you go to, but you don’t have to sign up in advance. You are welcome to help us one night or many. We’ll take what you have to offer. If your theme camp is wanting to come light as a group please email us and tell us what day and about how many from your camp you think you’ll have so we can try to arrange your lighting together. (Note, Lamplighter Villagers are expected to light (most) every night they are at the burn.)
Q. What time do you start? Where?
A. We start around 5, at the Lamplighters Workspace in Center Camp. Look for the lanterns and the crowd.
Q. How long does it take?
A. The entire Lamplighting process takes around two to three hours. You will be done before it gets dark.
Q. Do I have to make my own robe?
A. No, we have robes and sashes for you to borrow and then please bring them back.
Q. What do I have to bring?
A. You don’t have to bring anything but yourself, but we love contributions of sharp scissors, turkey basters, and fancy BBQ lighters… even better if they constantly re-light themselves… those are the best.
Q. If I promise to work at Lamplighters, can I get a free ticket?
A. Nope. But what you’ll get in return will far exceed your expectations.
Q. Do I need to reserve a camp space?
A. Yes! Our camp has limited space and there is a maximum number of people we can fit into it. We begin reserving spots in our Village each spring. The Lamplighter Village is just off Center Camp so wherever you stay in the Village you are still right in the middle of Black Rock City. That’s an awesome place to be.
Q. What should I do when I get to Burning Man?
A. Find us on the map BEFORE you drive in. The Greeters and most of the people you come across will be able to help you find Center Camp and/or the Lamplighters. The location of Lamplighters Village and the Lamplighters Workspace are on the map of Black Rock City. When you find us in the city, come check in at the Lounge and we will walk with you around the Village and show you a number of places that would be good for your camp. Then RELAX. You’ve been driving for hours. Sit down, and think about where you want to camp. You may decide that you don’t want to camp with us. You’ve already seen what we have to offer. This is your experience, and it won’t hurt our feelings. After you’ve calmed down, set up your living space. Now acclimate, and remind yourself that this is where you decided to spend your vacation.
BMIR – 94.5 FM (aka Burning Man Information Radio) is the official radio station of Burning Man. Broadcasting on the playa and can be listened to during the event utilizing the I Heart Radio app. BMIR broadcasts an eclectic mix of music, playa news, burn information, playa weather reports, interviews with participants and artists, theme camp and event promos and much more.
BMIR starts broadcasting from the playa 24/7 the Wednesday before the gates open to the public. Many people tune in to the internet stream from home while they are doing their last minute packing as well as stream BMIR on their smartphones while they travel to Black Rock City for info on how the city is coming together, updates on playa and traffic conditions and late breaking important information about the event.
It takes a whole lot of people to make a radio station run and there are many roles to be filled both on and off air. We are a highly interactive department with lots of public contact. Previous radio experience is not necessary. What’s important is desire and commitment to our mission of being the guardians of the airwaves for the citizens of Black Rock City.
If you’re interested in joining our team please send an email to BMIRVolunteers@gmail.com. Tell us a little bit about yourself and how you see yourself contributing to the team. We look forward to hearing from you!
The Black Rock Rangers are veteran burners who help participants and staff work through problems and make everyone’s Burn awesomer.
Rangers only assist the community when needed. Our ideal outcome is to have people solve their own problems with a gentle nudge in the right direction, and then fade into the background when we’re not needed.
What do Black Rock Rangers do?
Rangers are Burning Man’s “first response” team. We are out in the city, connecting with participants and keeping an eye out for situations that need attention. Things we do include:
Providing information to participants and staff
Helping new people “get” Burning Man culture
Maintaining burn perimeters and doing crowd control
Providing support for participants or staff members in psychological distress
Mediating conflict between participants and between camps
Supporting emergency services on medical and fire calls
Identifying and mitigating safety hazards, including unsafe driving
Providing support for sexual assault and domestic violence victims and their campmates
Facilitating positive interactions between law enforcement and participants or staff
Finding lost children
Supporting Leave No Trace (LNT) compliance
Being first on scene and calling in additional resources as needed for issues ranging from medical to hazmat spills, to found chickens – and more! You have a weird issue, we have a radio to help.
When do we get involved?
Rangers only intervene in a situation in two instances:
When someone specifically asks for help, or…
When someone’s behavior is impacting (or likely to impact) someone else’s experience.
We are emphatically not law enforcement or a paramilitary organization. We do not:
Enforce rules, unless there’s an obvious safety-related reason to do so
Protect property or art against theft or vandalism
Act as lost and found (that’s Playa Info!)
How can I volunteer with the Rangers?
In order to apply to volunteer with the Black Rock Rangers, you must be at least eighteen years old, and:
Have attended Burning Man at least twice (at least once in the last ten years), OR
Have attended Burning Man at least once in the last ten years, as well as have participated as a Ranger at a sanctioned Burning Man regional event at least once in the last three years (or will have by April 7th of this year).
The ARTery is the on-playa home of the Burning Man Art Department, and the check-in and service center in Black Rock City for artists, as well as a hub of information about Burning Man art.
The ARTery is located at Esplanade & 6:30 and is open one week before the event begins through event closure every day from 9am-6pm.
The ARTery Volunteer Teams
ARTerians
This team of volunteers facilitates artist check-in and placement of art on the playa during the Burning Man event. As part of the check-in process, the ARTerians help ensure that artists understand the importance of several essential steps, such as adequately lighting their artwork at night, protecting their art against theft, and confirming a Leave No Trace (LNT) cleanup plan. Once an artist has checked in, ARTerians reveal their art placement location and escort them to that location on the open playa or plazas.
The ARTerians also offer an Art Discovery Program, a wide range of experiences, from bicycle tours to self-guided art tours for participants to interact with and explore the art. ARTerians also support the hosting efforts for artist appreciation events on playa.
Art Support Services
The Art Support Services (ASS) team works with artists to support them during the construction of their art projects on the playa. Serving as a liaison with other Burning Man departments such as Heavy Equipment (HEaT), WaterWorks, DPW and Petrol, ASS helps artists streamline the process of installing art, with the aim of making it as safe as possible.
Pre-playa, ASS communicates with artists to assess their resource needs and the safety of their large, interactive artworks. On playa, the ASS team relays artists’ service requests and tracks all provided Burning Man services as they relate to art project implementation, installation and clean up — from initial point of contact through final check-out. ASS can be found at the “ASS Central” desk at the ARTery, or in roving squads visiting artists at their build sites on playa.
Fire Art Safety Team
The Fire Art Safety Team (FAST) assists artists in creating and exhibiting fire art safely. Made up of fire safety personnel and industry professionals, FAST provides experienced support, assisting artists in the safe execution of open fire, flame effects, and/or pyrotechnics in art installations, theme camps and mutant vehicles. FAST inspects artworks incorporating fire and issues the appropriate burn license(s) once the artwork has been approved.
There are two kinds of FAST personnel: 1) FAST artist liaisons work with artists and their fire safety liaisons during the pre-event evaluation process; and 2) FAST Leads oversee any burns and/or pyrotechnic displays during the event.
Eyes on Art
The Eyes on Art (EoA) team surveys art projects across the open playa at night to identify potential art-related safety issues, such as unlit or damaged artworks, unsecured construction sites, and other hazards such as exposed rebar. EoA maintains a real-time, radio-dispatched response team that monitors playa art each night of build week and the event from 9PM to 4AM. With a particular emphasis on sharing best practices for lighting your art installation, they strive to keep art, and the people experiencing the art, safe.
EoA coordinates with many of Black Rock City’s teams including ASS, FAST, Black Rock Rangers, DPW, and HEaT.
ARTery Operations and Facilities
ARTery Ops is our behind-the-scenes, get-things-done, build and problem solve, create-order-from-chaos team, focusing on the ARTery facility itself. Members of this team are responsible for coordinating and maintaining all aspects of the physical ARTery space.
Want to Be an ARTery Volunteer?
Interested in joining us to support artists in Black Rock City? We receive volunteer questionnaire submissions year round, and actively recruit new volunteers in April and May from those submissions and then meet regularly in the months leading up to the event.
Benefits
Gaining insight into the art of Burning Man—early insider’s knowledge of what is being created.
Working with artists, learning about their process, inspiration, and passions.
Helping support the art of Black Rock City—handling the on-playa placement of artworks, sharing information with participants, and enjoying interactions with folks who recognize Burning Man as a premier art event.
Belonging to a community, having fun, and making new friends. ARTery volunteers are a close group of dedicated volunteers within the larger organization
Requirements:
You must have attended Burning Man at least once in order to join the team
We request regular attendance (via Zoom) at the monthly ARTerian meetings held on the second Tuesday of every month from April through August, with a debrief in October
A minimum of three 4.5- to 5-hour shifts during the event
To apply to join the team, please fill out the Volunteer Questionnaire and select Art as your preferred area of interest. The best time to apply is from September through early April. We aim to reach out in the spring to potential volunteers who have submitted the Volunteer Questionnaire anytime from the previous April through early April of the current year. We will send an Expression of Interest form in mid-April so we can learn more about your interests, skills, experience, and availability. By late May we have finalized our volunteer team for the event.
Does the idea of working in and around freezing ice trucks in 110-degree heat appeal to your inner penguin? If so, then you’ll be at home volunteering with Arctica and the ice caps – where nearly 400 people come together to create the three chill-(i)-est spots on the Black Rock Desert.
Located at 3 o’clock, 9 o’clock, and Center Camp, Arctica sells ice to the Burning Masses, with all proceeds going to benefit local Gerlach-area charities and community groups. The gift economy keeps on giving!
We are looking for Cube Masters to work three-hour shifts throughout the entire event. You’ll keep the life force flowing to hot and dusty Black Rock citizens while helping to support a local communities that exist outside BRC!