Looking to expand, Burning Man fest faces little opposition

RENO, Nev. (AP) — With a week to go for public comment on it, Burning Man organizers’ request to boost the festival’s maximum crowd size by 20 percent on the Nevada desert is drawing only scant opposition. Federal Bureau of Land Management spokesman Cory Roegner says no group and few individuals have come out so far against the proposal to increase the crowd cap from 58,000 to 70,000 over the next five years. He attributes the dampened opposition to Burning Man’s excellent cleanup record on the Black Rock Desert and to its economic boost to the state with the nation’s highest foreclosure and unemployment rates. The request to increase the capacity comes after the eclectic art and music festival sold out for the first time last year with a crowd in excess of 53,000.