can anyone help me please??????

[rollergirl01]

My dad left from michigan on friday night told me he was taking my son to an art fair in iowa. a couple days later my 15 yr old decided to tell me the truth disobeying his grandpa and let me know exactly where they were driving to. the last ive heard from my son was when his cell phone worked at 4 am monday morning and he said they were about 100 miles from burning man. he is supposed to call me every day a couple times a day. ive been crying and sick. i dont even know if they ever made it... there cells have no service and i dont know how to see if they are there or even safe. is there even phones he can use there or ways i can contact them??? i tried the flame phone number but the voice box is full. Please can anyone help me?

[TT120]

They'll be fine. There is really no cell reception out on the Playa. There are 50000 friendly people out there so I wouldn't worry about them. They will have the time of their life and come home with some really cool stories.

[rollergirl01]

im sure if their there they will have a good time. but i dont even know if they ever made it. and im sure my son is very upset knowing i cant make sure he is alright

[rollergirl01]

i have lots of questions and its just unfortunate i dont know the answers since i was lied to by my dad.... Like can they leave the desert to go to a restaurant or gas station to maybe use their phone. or is there a place on site of workers to use their phone? wheres the nearest hospital? is there poisonous snakes scorpions anything poisonous? he doesnt even have any info on him as far as insurance for my son or an emergency contact. you may think im overreacting but take it from a single mother whos only child is across the country and you never knew it. i have no way of contacting him or making sure hes ok. what if they had an emergency nobody knows who my son is. what if there was an emergency here how would i get ahold of him?

[5280MeV]

i have lots of questions and its just unfortunate i dont know the answers since i was lied to by my dad.... Like can they leave the desert to go to a restaurant or gas station to maybe use their phone.

Yes, it is possible to leave the event and go to the nearest town, but this is not very easy to do and unlikely unless there is an emergency.

or is there a place on site of workers to use their phone?

Cell phones work sporadically. Last year I could make calls on a friend's ATT phone, but my T-Mobile phone got no service.

wheres the nearest hospital?

Probably Reno. They do have helicopters waiting if absolutely needed, and there is an actual registered temporary airport at Burning Man.
There are also extensive medical facilities staffed by volunteer nurses, doctors, EMTs, and other licensed personnel. They typically need to treat things such as dehydration and heat exhaustion. There are also law enforcement officials present at the event if there is an emergency.

is there poisonous snakes scorpions anything poisonous?

No.

he doesnt even have any info on him as far as insurance for my son or an emergency contact. you may think im overreacting but take it from a single mother whos only child is across the country and you never knew it.

This could be an issue for certain types of urgent care. I remember when I was 17 I had a hard time getting care after a whitewater accident due to a lack of medical release form.

i have no way of contacting him or making sure hes ok. what if they had an emergency nobody knows who my son is. what if there was an emergency here how would i get ahold of him?

If there was a life-threatening emergency and you needed to contact him, you might start with the Pershing County Sheriff's office.

The road to Burning Man is highly trafficked and patrolled by law-enforcement, and the perimeter of the event is also carefully monitored. There is essentially no way that they could get lost outside the event. Inside the event, there are 50,000 people, but also volunteer corps "Rangers" and law-enforcement present. Many of these people have years experience dealing with desert related injuries, and so generally speaking the event is absolutely safe as long as one is reasonably responsible.

Unfortunately, when there is not an emergency it is very difficult to contact someone if you do not know where they are camping in the city. If you have any information that could link them to a camp, you might be able to send a communication through the Rangers, but there is no guarantee that this message would reach the individual.

[jkisha]

I think there are some apron strings that need cutting.

[rollergirl01]

Thank you so much frogbird. you have been a tremendous help and i am more at ease now. i wouldnt be so frantic and worried had i been told the truth in the beginning and known all the facts and information location etc. about this event.....
again thank you for taking the time to type all that informative information.
your a wonderful man

[gyre]

Safer than a county fair.

Infants often go.
Had a car come through gate driven by the grandmother.
Only new burner was six months old.
The little kid had already been eight times, maybe ten years old.

The med tents are great.
Certainly quicker service than most ers.

They might find email if they wish, though it takes effort.

[gyre]

911@burningman.com

Burning Man Festival
380 Main Street, Gerlach, NV
(775) 557-2200

I think this is the Gerlach number.

[some seeing eye]

I think Mr Frogbird and Mr Gyre has covered it. All the roads arriving and leaving are patrolled and even better, there are many other festival attendees driving them to help out with any situation that comes up. There is an extensive health and safety organization of hundreds of trained volunteers, hospital staff and several overlapping juridictions of public safety officers, there is even a fire department!

It is essentially impossible to call into a participant. But if someone there needs to call out or send an email, it can be done in an emergency. So even though you son promised to call every day, phones rarely to never work there, and it is not his fault if he can't reach you and not a indication of any concern.

I know it is odd in our always connected world to be cut off, but the event is the safest off the grid place in the world to be off the grid. The people attending are going to be more helpful and protective than the crowd at a large country fair. That's from someone who has traveled far off the grid.

Because people can set up their camp anywhere without registering. I would just relax and not try to contact them. That is because even the people at those numbers are going to have a hard time finding their camping spot.

I know 2 individuals roughly that age who have attended, based on that I would bet your son will take a big jump in maturity and be very popular in school when he returns!

But don't let the dust get in your house when they get back, everything direct to the washer, it has the consistency of talcum powder and gets into everything.

[rollergirl01]

gyre and some seeing eye, thank you so much for the extra added comfort in your words. the more i read from people like you the more myself and my mother can relax about my son being safe.
thanks for the address and number gyre. and my washing machine will be waiting seeing eye....thanks for the heads up

[some seeing eye]

Just beware that sometimes people can get very snarky on these message boards, so if something reads that way to you, just ignore it.

[redcrow]

I can't think of any place nearly as safe as BM. There are NO snakes or scorpions. One year I did see a lost butterfly but it seemed harmless. There are 50,000 people there to help with anything. The medical care is quicker and more complete than most hospitals Law enforcemnt over patrols and BM rangers are every where. The playa is a very large dry lake bed. Wind and dust can be a uncomfortable, but not dangerous. In short, they are safer than you at this time..

[Sail Man]

As a 4 time burner who has taken my son since he was 5, I'm sure your 15 yr old will do just fine. But you may find that once he get's back into the default world he is bummed that all the pretty ladies have to wear clothing

They'll make friends out there, neighbors etc and many many people out there look after each other, it's all part of being a burner. Lovely group of people I might add.



Now, JK, you didn't go either, eh?

[drgaonfly]

Did they make it back yet?