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Although traffic conditions fluctuated, the exodus from last year’s Burning Man backed up drivers for up to 10 hours.

An official Burning Man Twitter account that provides live traffic updates tweeted this just after the festival officially ended:

“Exit time is now up to 10 hours due to multiple Vehicle Assistance in the lanes and Medical Emergencies that have cleared. Safety comes first.”

The traffic jams are an unavoidable consequence of tens of thousands of attendees trying to escape the desert at once via a single highway entrance, according to the Burning Man Project. The nonprofit oversees the annual ticketed event as well as other Burning Man initiatives.

The main Burning Man event is a weeklong gathering of artists and organizers, who construct a temporary city in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert founded on principles such as inclusivity, gifting, decommodification, self-expression and community.

This year’s burning man will take place between Aug. 27 and Sept. 4.