It's been said that you sometimes don’t get the burn you want, but the one you need. In our case, it seems that the latter is true this time around…

Due to the dry conditions that the mid-Atlantic region is experiencing, Bedford County, PA, where our burn is located, is currently under an official burn ban until June 30. This burn ban was put into place this weekend. It may lift if we get enough rain between now and Burn Night, but there are no guarantees, so we are planning for the worst case scenario. Unfortunately, this means that the open burning of any combustible material will not be permitted at Summerisle Burn 2023.

This burn ban applies to: the Effigy and Temple burns, all fire flow props, candles, tiki torches, and anything flame that is not contained.

This burn ban does not apply to: ringed/contained/off the ground campfires at registered theme camps, charcoal briquette grills, or propane devices – including poofers lower than 30 psi only and stand-alone flame bars, blue darts are okay if there is an audience of 3 or more.

What we as burners can do:

• As always, there are no campfires allowed in open camping or RV Land. This was always a rule.
• All registered theme camps with a fire ring must have fire suppression equipment standing by. A bucket of water and/or an extinguisher is required.
• Conclave and other fire performers can use LED or unlit flow props only.  No lit props. No fire breathing.
• Bring as many LEDs and as much plug-in and battery-operated lighting as you can fit in your ride so we can light this burn up!
• The Effigy and Temple designs are being reconfigured as we speak with the new burn ban in mind. They will be assembled on site and have to be disassembled and re-loaded before Exodus.  We encourage an all-hands approach to helping the artist teams with this task. Many hands make light work!
• The Effigy team invites you to bring any paint or marking supplies you may have to make the Effigy look different every day. Some paint will be available. Tarps will help with MOOP, but please watch your drip! Got tarps to donate? Bring them! NO GLITTER.
• At Burn O’Clock on Saturday, join us on the burn field for an LED-inclusive, un-lit Conclave performance and Effigy "burn"
• At Burn O’Clock on Sunday, join us on the burn field for a spectacle of light and sound at the Temple “burn”.
• Let everyone else know about the burn ban too

As a community, we’re known for adapting to extreme conditions, then carrying on with a smile. We’ve seen days of rain, we’ve known widespread illness, we’ve experienced a change of venues, and we’ve moved successfully through a pandemic. This is nothing new, just another challenge for us to overcome.

This is an opportunity to rely on our resourcefulness to make this Thing on the mountain happen, then laugh about it together later. Let’s do this!

-Lord Summerisle & His Band of Furiously Merry Humans