Walking in the Valley A weekly column for those who live and walk in Silicon Valley by Barbara Dahlgren

The Burning Fire Column for the week of August 25-31, 2002

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It takes a long time to build something up and only one little spark to ignite a fire to burn it down. Just ask those people who watched 6 acres of the 42-acre retail and residential development, Santana Row, become engulfed in flames last Monday. Due to open in less than a month, the future of the San Jose project remains up in the air. There is still no real clue as to how it started. Accidents happen. Some are more devastating than others. Miraculously the 400 on site workers escaped without injury.

Fire has played an important part in our heritage. It's been used to heat our homes and cook our food. In the past it provided light and today it fuels power plants to produce electricity. Long before matches were invented, starting a fire could be quite arduous. Therefore people in tribes and villages used to be assigned the task of watching the fire to be sure it didn't go out, sort of keepers of the flames. Fire has been used to make weapons, tools, pottery, ceramics, and bricks. A refiner's fire can help purify precious metals, such as gold. Fire gave the steam engine steam. It helped farmers clear land for crops. Fire can sprout seeds of native plants. For example, the cones of many lodge pole pines, the characteristic tree of Yellowstone, will only open after exposure to fire. It's even been used in various rituals. One will take place this coming week. It's called Burning Man.

Burning Man is quite a phenomenon. Larry Harvey started it in 1986 around this time of year. In order to get over a love affair and celebrate the summer solstice, he and a buddy built an 8-foot wooden man, hauled it to Baker Beach in San Francisco and burned it. I know it doesn't make sense but I've read over 50 interviews of this guy and that's the gist of what he says. As the wooden man burned, a crowd formed and a bystander spontaneously clasped the Burning Man's hand. I guess you had to be there. He and his friends decided to make it a yearly ritual.
In 1987, the man they burn grew to 20 feet; 80 people came. By 1990 they decided to move the Burning Man ceremony to Black Rock Desert, NV and 800 people came to watch the now taller, 40-foot high man burn. Somehow, around 1992 the Burning Man culture expanded to include an arts festival and when the man was burned, fireworks formed a crown that hovered around his head. In 1995 they had 4000 people in attendance and CNN began yearly coverage of the event. Other media soon got on the bandwagon. Somewhere along the way, themes became involved. In 1998, the man was 50 feet tall and 15,000 people came. In 2001, the man was 70 feet high and over 25,000 people came for the weeklong celebration. Who knows how many people will be there this week? The theme is The Floating World.

Rules have evolved over the years. Participants at Burning Man must bring all necessities to the desert with them: food, shelter, water, and fuel. No vending is allowed. This means people cannot buy or sell anything. It is a place of sharing and free exchange within a gift economy. Quite a bit of bartering takes place. No trash receptacles or bins will be provided. People must take everything they brought to the event back home with them. The main drawing factor is "there are no rules about how one must behave or express one's self at this event (save the rules that serve to protect the health, safety, and experience of the community at large); rather, it is up to each participant to decide how they will contribute and what they will give to this community." Community, participation, self-expression, and self-reliance are the tenets of Burning Man. People come incognito or as alter egos. People dress in costume and some don't dress at all. Artistic expression is the key word. People flock to this weeklong excursion in the desert where they freeze at night and scorch during the day. Why do they come?

Some come for adventure. Some come to escape their lives and be other people for awhile. Some come for artistic purposes. Some come for some cosmic spiritual experience. Most come not seeking anything but a good time. All come to see the giant wooden man, who towers bigger and bigger each year, go up in flames, a ritual that symbolizes different things to different people. It gives a whole new meaning to "if you build it they will come." And if you burn it down, they will keep coming and keep coming.

For those who go to Burning Man for a party, then they will get what they seek. For those who go searching for peace, happiness, fulfillment, or even closure, they won't find it. If Burning Man could bring closure you wouldn't have to burn him again and again, year after year like they had to do with animal sacrifices in the Old Testament. For purpose and meaning to life, better go looking to that consuming fire mentioned in the Bible. (Hebrews 12:29) He's the only fire who can protect you from getting burned!

©August 2002

Be sure to visit this page every week to read the next edition of Walking in the Valley. You can write to the author at bdahlgren@wcgsouthbay.org.