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PHOTOS: Farewell, Coachella 2017
The Coachella Music and Arts Festival wraps up Sunday night, capping two weekends of revelry — and three days of blistering heat.
Second weekend attendees have been experiencing hotter temperatures than those who came the first weekend. This Friday was 20 degrees hotter than the previous week.
Some of this weekend's concertgoers felt the effects of the high temperatures long before the first performer took the stage.
"People don't understand that the sun out here is extremely intense," Indio Police Sergeant Dan Marshall tells KPCC. "Couple that with 100 plus thousand people, a lot of dancing, people are gonna get dehydrated. Even before the doors opened we had calls for medical aid," he says.
Although the festival's double weekend format aims to deliver the same experience to all music fans, the weekends will never be identical — and that's not necessarily a bad thing.
By the second weekend, kinks at the festival have usually been ironed out as bands tighten up their sets and festival organizers address problems.
On the other hand, the emerald blanket of grass at the Empire Polo Club has begun to turn yellow. All those cars, tents and trampling feet as well as three days without water will do that.
Coachella's attendance this year ballooned to more than 110,000 people, up from about 90,000 last year after the Indio City Council gave its approval to expand the event.
That means come Monday 9 a.m., when the sprinklers go on, all those folks will have to leave.
To make it more orderly, officials are urging campers to plan ahead.
"What I'm encouraging people that are camping this year, is that the second you get to your car to pack up and leave on Monday, turn it on. Find out if you need a jump. If you need a jump, put your hood up and let us know," Marshall says.
Last Monday, officials had to assist 80 vehicles who couldn’t get off the festival grounds because of car trouble.
The California Highway Patrol is stationing officers in the area to monitor traffic and respond to any problems.
Once the crowd from the Coachella Festival leaves, concert producers will flip the site. The three-day Stagecoach event, spotlighting country music, arrives Friday.
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