Nocturnal Wonderland Cancels Due To San Bernardino Fires

Nocturnal Wonderland, the longest-running festival produced by Pasquale Rotella’s promotion company, Insomniac, canceled this weekend’s event due to the ongoing wildfires in San Bernardino, California. The festival was set to return to Glen Helen Regional Park in San Bernardino on Sept. 14 and 15.

The festival announced this year’s cancelation on its social media pages and told ticketholders an email with further information regarding refunds would be sent out. 

“While Nocturnal Wonderland was cleared to move forward at the time of our last update, we are saddened to inform you that new fires in the San Bernardino area have ignited over the past 36 hours and are now approaching the Glen Helen Amphitheater,” the festival said in a statement posted to its social media pages. “The health and safety of festival attendees and staff is our highest priority. After further discussions with local authorities, due to the impact of the fires surrounding the venue, we will be unable to proceed with Nocturnal Wonderland.”

The Line Fire grew to 34,659 acres burned as of this morning, with California Gov. Gavin Newsom stating, “It’s critical that residents in the impacted areas remain vigilant and prepare to evacuate immediately if called for by local authorities.” Currently, 65,000 residencies have been evacuated, and the fire is currently 14 percent contained. 

“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires throughout San Bernardino and Southern California,” the festival continued in its statement. “We understand the importance of ensuring that local resources are fully dedicated to managing the fires and protecting the surrounding communities.”

This year’s lineup was set to include performances from Apashe, Blanke, Boogie T, Green Velvet, Kaskade, Of The Trees, RL Grime, San Holo, Sidepiece, Slander and more.

The festival continued, “In the coming days, we will share more information on how our dance music community can come together to support and give back to the courageous firefighters and those displaced or affected by the fires.”

Nocturnal Wonderland is far from the only festival affected by severe weather and climate catastrophe in 2023. Ultra Music Festival in Miami was forced to end night one of its annual event early due to a severe storm and had to postpone doors on day two in order to clear flooding from the venue. Texas Eclipse canceled and evacuated fans in April due to severe weather, and Electric Forest also paused its festivities on day three, as well as ended the show early on day four, due to a severe storm. Elements Festival in Long Pond, Pennsylvania, was hit by Hurricane Debbie and canceled performances on day one.