Burning Man 2014: Festival closed on opening day amid heavy rains

Burning Man festival, the annual counterculture event in the desert of northern Nevada, has been closed on opening day amid rare heavy rains.

Thousands of burners are stuck in Reno, Nevada, after the rainstorm delayed the start of Burning Man festival.

Organizers said the gate to the temporary desert city would be closed until at least midday on Tuesday, August 25, as the Black Rock desert playa turned to mud.

Festival goers are being advised to stay in nearby Reno overnight because law enforcement officers are turning cars back from flooded roads.Police were turning people around at the entrance to avoid stuck vehicles.

Many of the would-be attendees began setting up camp at nearby Pyramid Lake, local media reported.

Hundreds of people gathered outside a shop on August 25 to buy camping permits, the Reno Gazette-Journal reported.

Burning Man festival, which attracts about 50,000 people each year, is due to run through September 1.

In 2013, a record 68,000 people attended Burning Man festival, which ends with the burning of a four-storey effigy.