Larry Harvey, co-founder of the Burning Man festival, died Saturday. He was 70.

The cause of death was not released but Harvey suffered a stroke April 4, Marian Goodell, CEO of the Burning Man Project, said in a statement.

"We resolutely held out for a miracle. If there was anyone tenacious, strong-willed and stubborn enough to come back from this challenge, it was Larry," she said. "Burning Man culture has lost a great leader and an inspiring mind. He adeptly interpreted the manifestation of what became a movement."

Harvey created Burning Man on a San Francisco beach in 1986. Now, more than 70,000 people come from all over the world for the weeklong festival held in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert, which culminates by setting a towering wooden effigy on fire.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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Members of the conversion crew take a break as the main scoreboard is lowered to the floor to be worked on as the arena gets ready for the next concert at State Farm Arena, Thursday, October 2, 2025, in Atlanta. The crew was working on creating a stage for the Friday, Oct. 3 Maxwell concert. (Jason Getz/AJC)

Credit: Jason Getz / Jason.Getz@ajc.com