Burning Man organizers buy Nevada ranch for year-round activities

The organizers of the annual Burning Man Festival just purchased a ranch near Gerlach, Nevada, a place that has the potential to become home to year-round art and self expression activities.

Burning Man Project has purchased Fly Ranch, 3,800 acres of land located twenty-one miles north of Gerlach in Washoe County.

"In 2012 we became a nonprofit with the intention of amplifying and extending Burning Man culture," Burning Man organizers announced on their website. "So here we are, taking a big step in that direction. As a year-round site, Fly Ranch has the potential to expand Burning Man Project’s activities and existing programs, as well as amplify Burning Man’s cultural impact into the wider world beyond Black Rock City."

There are no plans to change the annual Burning Man Festival in the Black Rock Desert where 60,000 people create a temporary city known for it artistic flavor every Labor Day weekend.

"Black Rock City will not relocate to Fly Ranch, or to the adjacent Hualapai playa," said organizers. "The property is not suitable for the size and scope of Black Rock City as we now know it."

They purchased the Fly Ranch for $6.5 million and have no immediate plans for anything on the property.

"We hope Fly Ranch and the activities, events, and dreams that can be realized there will increase and accelerate Burning Man’s capacity to create lasting positive change in the world," the group posted.

There will be no immediate access to the property, nor will access be available during this year's Burning Man. They will now start the process of scoping and planning, but do plan to make it accessible in the future in an ongoing and sustainable way. They don't plan to use the ranch for large-scale events, and expect whatever does happen to be small streams of people all-year-long which Burning Man Project organizers say they hope will help the economies of nearby Gerlach and Empire, as well as the Paiute Tribe.

The land’s most prominent feature is the stunning Fly Geyser, a unique and iconic geothermal geyser that constantly releases water reaching five feet in the air, depositing minerals and multi-colored algae on the terraces surrounding it.