Watch: This traffic jam stretches as long as seven hours. Here's why

What may appear like tyre marks on a muddy patch of land is actually thousands of vehicles queued up behind each other in a traffic jam that has stranded them for more than seven hours. The image is the aerial view of the cars leaving the Burning Man festival held every year in Nevada, United States. The convoy of cars, trucks and vans had the opportunity to leave the venue of the annual counterculture festival after being stranded due to heavy rains. Around 65,000 people with thousands of vehicles have been waiting for this exodus as mud and slush blocked the exit since Sunday, September 3.

The exodus of Burning Man festival participants started late on Monday. According to the organisers of the festival, the wait to get out of the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada has already climbed to seven hours. They fear the traffic jam could stretch further on Tuesday.

According to the organisers of Burning Man festival, vehicles without four-wheel drive were left stuck at the venue after heavy rains turned the area into a muddy pool. It takes more than 8 kms to travel out of the venue through a dirt road, which currently is mostly slush, to reach the nearest town. On Monday, vehicles were seen queued up in 10 lanes while on their way out. A few resorted to cover the stretch on foot, including celebrities like DJ Diplo and comedian Chris Rock.

The traffic jam at burning Man festival is not new. Last year, the venue witnessed a massive 12-hour traffic snarl. Images and videos of the massive traffic snarl went viral on social media showing how thousands of vehicles lined up along the desert highway spread across around 15 lanes while trying to leave the Black Rock Desert. 2022 was the first year that the nine-day music and cultural festival was held after Covid-19 lockdown restrictions ended. Around 80,000 people had attended the event last year.