LAS VEGAS — An intensifying heat wave in the U.S. Southwest posed some concerns, but Insomniac Production’s 2016 Electric Daisy Carnival event at the Las Vegas Motor Speedway went relatively smoothly. One crew member looking after the Bass Pod stage sustained minor burn-related injuries in a pyro accident on the second night of the three-night event, however.
The three-night, dusk-to-dawn EDM dance party took place June 17, 18 and 19, drawing capacity crowds of close to 135,000 for the first two nights and more than 130,000 on the third night. The multi-stage lighting and video spectacle once again proved a big draw.
At the Bass Pod area on Night Two, however, a propane-fueled pyro device appeared to malfunction, and crew members were not able to keep the resulting flames from spreading to nearby set elements and loudspeakers. Firefighters stationed nearby quickly extinguished the blaze, and apart from one crew member who sustained minor burns while trying to put the fire out, no other injuries were reported. The Bass Pod stage resumed operation later on Night Two, according to reports.
Along with the huge crowds of revelers and 250 performing acts at the festival, which is sprawled across the grounds of the Las Vegas Motor Speedway, 17 firefighters and 12 fire inspectors were on hand at the event each night, according to local reports.
No fatalities were reported, but felony arrests for drugs increased this year, perhaps due to an increase in the number of plainclothes officers patrolling the grounds. The 39 arrests on Night Two set a one-night record, and that was topped on Night Three by 40 felony drug arrests, according to reports.
