When the sun starts to burn, Burning Man comes alive

The burning of the man — or “the burn,” as it’s often referred to — is scheduled for Saturday night. But for us, it only took one day to be officially scorched. Our necks are burning and our lips are cracking, but we can’t can’t stop wandering into the middle of the desert to see some of the most elaborate cars out there.

After spending half a day, we have realized we’ve committed two mistakes (three if you count not reapplying sunscreen):

One, we forgot our bikes…

And two — most importantly — we forgot to come up with our Burning Man persona. It’s the one event where you’re able to express yourself with flamboyant costumes or your birthday suits. (Sorry not pictures of that — remember, we’re squares.) We’ve been called “squares” for wearing too much clothing and carrying photo equipment, so that might have to be our designated persona.

Despite the sweltering heat, more than 70,000 burners are expected to make their way to the middle of the desert known as Black Rock City, just over two hours away from Reno, Nevada.

After an unexpected rainy first day left some people stranded for over 18 hours, Tuesday became the “unofficial” first day.

By the time we made it to the box office line, thousands of people were in front of us. For virgin burners like ourselves, waiting four hours was a great introduction to the amazing outfits and breathtaking sunsets.

While in line, we met “Coby,” who was a little late to the party but whiling to pay put to $1200 for a single burning man ticket that normally goes for 380 dollars. Coby, who was very much quite the distraction for many of us waiting in the monotonous box-office line, made his way to Black Rock City from Hawaii, and had been waiting for over 8 hours and whiling to wait the rest of the week until he got his hands on a ticket.

If we see him later in the week, we’ll let you know. More interviews and photos will be coming throughout the week from Fusion’s Burning Man team.

Ignacio Torres is a segment producer for “Alicia Menendez Tonight,” a California native, and a proud graduate of the University of California, Davis, and Columbia Journalism School.