There was a gathering of thousands of people at Sand Mountain for Halloween. This celebration has apparently been happening for years. This year the Bureau of Land Management says there was a death and some serious injuries.

April "Cookie" Poffinbarger, loves driving the dunes of Sand Mountain. Halloween there is special. People from all over the region come to camp and celebrate. They ride ATVs, UTVs, and dirt bikes. This year however, is a little different. "* 8,000 people is a lot. That's a whole lot of people to be out here together. That's pretty scary," said Poffinbarger.

BLM says Sand Mountain Halloween 2020 had twice as many visitors as it normal does.

It is not an event, or sponsored. People just show up. But it's got a much different atmosphere than Burning Man. "I like to pass out candy. I send the cute little kids to my husband and he gives them a 20 bill from him," said Poffinbarger. "There's seven or eight parades you can be a part of. You can go up and down the dirt roads and everyone just trick or treats," said 2020 Sand Mountain Halloween attendee Jake Camp.

Camp who was there this year and sells many of the off-road vehicles used, says he believes COVID wasn't really a concern at the gathering. "It's really hard to have a mask, when you have a helmet on when you are riding. At a concert, you're in close proximity to people you don't really know. At these gatherings, it's different because the rest of the people are in their own group," said Camp.

BLM says there was CDC signage, law enforcement and EMS support there.

Still, one person died and two were care-flighted out. Camp says he knows a bit about what happened. "There was no spotter, to see what was on the other side, when the side-by-side jumped. He hit a dirt biker," said Camp. He says he believes the other incident involved a off-road vehicle as well.

The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services said they are not aware of any COVID-19 cases that violated isolation protocols or contacts that violated quarantine.

They also said it's too early in the incubation, testing, and interview process to connect any new cases with the gathering.

They are still assessing many events that happened over Halloween weekend.