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Summer Of Spark Will Be Without Sculpture Burning Due To Fire Risk

ELVERTA (CBS13) — Burners are staking their claim for the first time in Sacramento County's Gibson Ranch Park.

"The real spirit comes through set up, you get to see the city come together," said Jennifer Abbott, the event coordinator whose burner name is Kraft. "This was a field just this morning.

Hundreds of burning man enthusiasts are holding an all-day festival called Summer of Spark, Saturday, celebrating the counterculture lifestyle a little closer to home.

"We only had to drive 10 miles to set up our camp instead of a five-hour drive out to Black Rock City," Comet said, an avid burner enthusiast.

But the day before the big event, the party plans were dimmed.

"It's really dry out there and we can't make the scene safe for it to occur," said Diana Schmidt, fire inspector with Sac Metro Fire.

The festival had applied for a burn permit, but it was rejected due to high fire danger.

"There's a lot of dry vegetation that they can't access to get to a fire if it does occur," Schmidt said.

All open flames are forbidden, including the climactic burning of a 9-foot tall sculpture along with the fire pits, flame twirlers, and other incendiary arts.

But event organizers say the party will go on.

"There is still music, there still lights, and there's interaction and that's really what people are coming for," Krafty said.

Events like these are a boon to Gibson Ranch's budget, which has struggled financially over the years.

"Great news, I mean that's a five dollar bill rolling into the park that helps us pay our expenses," said the park operator Doug Ose.

It will be a day and night of sole self-reliance, meaning there are no vendors other than a beer garden, everything else you'll have to bring or borrow.

"It's all volunteer," Krafty explained. "It's a lot of work in the sun, but at night, when you're walking around wearing an amazing purple for coat and you're just hearing this amazing booming music in the background and there's all these people and they're wearing light it up jackets, you know you're someplace special."

So though there won't be any fire at the Summer of Spark, festival organizers say it won't snuff their spirit.

"It's just a testament to the true burner spirit that we can push through whatever it is that is thrown at us," Kraft said.

Tickets are $50 and still available for the event that begins Saturday at 10 a.m. and goes through the night. Plus, it's an extra $10 to camp.

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