Burning Man witnesses its annual pyrotechnic spectacular in the Black Rock desert two days after the festival was marred by the death of a reveler from carbon monoxide poisoning

• The Burning Man statue burn took place Saturday night in the Nevada desert 
• The statue stood more than 60 feet tall and was composed of wood and metal 
• A metal cocoon was wrapped around the Man, playing into the ‘metamorphoses’ them of this year’s festival
• The statue’s base featured woodwork relating to a butterfly’s life cycle
• The Man burn came just two days after a man was found dead at the festival 
• Shane Billingham, 33, was found dead in his van at camp on August 29
• Authorities said preliminary autopsy findings indicated he died of carbon monoxide poisoning that was exacerbated by the drugs in his system  

The fabled Burning Man statue went up in flames Saturday night as the multi-day culture and arts festival in the Nevada desert wrapped up.  

This year’s metal and wood statue and base stood about 60 feet and seven inches tall, with the man alone coming in at about 40 feet tall, the Reno Gazette Journal reported. 

The statue was designed by Yelena Filipchuk and Serge Beaulieu of arts group Hybycozo, who were selected during a public artists’ call. In previous years, the Man’s design was generated internally. 

The Burning Man statue lit up the night (left) before it was set on fire (right) Saturday night

As the more than 60 foot Man structure burned, it was accompanied by a pyrotechnics display

As this year’s Burning Man theme was ‘metamorphoses,’ a metal cocoon was fittingly wrapped around the Man, while its based was composed of woodwork and story boxes related to a butterfly’s life cycle. 

The Burning Man statue burn, one of the festival highlights, was preceded by multiple smaller burns earlier in the week, including a giant cake and a memorial to the festival’s founder, Larry Harvey. 

Sunday night is the festival-closing Temple burn. 

The Burning Man burn came just two days after a New Zealand man was found dead at the festival. 

The Man statue was built of wood and had a metal cocoon around it, symbolizing the festival’s 2019 ‘metamorphoses’ theme. It’s structure featured woodwork about the butterfly’s life cycle

The Man burn, which comes towards the end of the event, is one of the festival’s highlights

The Burning Man statue during daylight hours, as it appeared before it was set on fire 

Burning Man attendees climb gathering around and exploring an aircraft structure

Some of the 80,000 Burning Man attendees are seen here riding bikes through the desert 

An overhead view of the Burning Man campsite. It was attended by 80,000 people 

The Burning Man burn came just two days after Shane Billingham, 33, was found dead in his van at his camp. He was declared dead on August 29

Authorities said initial autopsy finding indicated that Billingham died of Carbon Monoxide poisoning, exacerbated by drugs that were found in his system

Shane Billingham, 33, was discovered unresponsive in his vehicle at his camp, Beats Boutique, at around 6.30pm on August 29.  

By the time Pershing County deputies arrived at the scene, Billingham had been moved from his van to the Rampart medical tent, according to a media release. 

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office said Friday that Billingham’s death was being investigated as suspicious.  

On August 30, authorities said that preliminary information from Billingham’s autopsy was that the ‘findings are suspicious for Carbon Monoxide poisoning.’

The Washoe County Medical Examiner said that Billingham had a concentration of Carbon Monoxide in his blood ‘which would be considered poisonous to human life.’ 

‘Preliminary toxicology showed the presence of controlled substances to be an exacerbating factor,’ authorities said in the release. 

Billingham’s comprehensive toxicology report won’t be available for several weeks, police said. 

About 80,000 people participated in the festival, which had 345 pieces of art and a total of 19 burns.     

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