The promoter of an event set up for Earthlings to party around the "Storm Area 51" internet craze in the remote Nevada desert has pulled the plug due to low attendance, while the host of a festival for several thousand people in the tiny town of Rachel said Saturday her show will go on.
"Area 51 Basecamp" organizer Keith Wright said that after drawing just 500 attendees at a Friday event planned for 5,000 at the Alien Research Center souvenir shop in Hiko, he had to pull the plug.
"We put on a safe event for the people that showed up," Wright said. "But we had to make the decision today because it costs tens of thousands of dollars to staff each day."
A man in an alien mask stands at an entrance to the Nevada Test and Training Range near Area 51 Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, outside of Rachel, Nev. People gathered at the gate inspired by the "Storm Area 51" internet hoax. (AP PhotoJohn Locher)
"It was a gamble financially," he said. "We lost."
Several dozen campers still at the site can stay until Sunday, he added.
In Rachel, Little A'Le'Inn owner Connie West said she was sad to hear the Hiko festival didn't succeed.
People holds signs at an entrance to the Nevada Test and Training Range near Area 51 Friday, Sept. 20, 2019, near Rachel, Nev. People gathered at the gate inspired by the "Storm Area 51" internet hoax. (AP PhotoJohn Locher)
West, in a voice hoarse from stress and lack of sleep, said a noon-to-midnight slate of "Alienstock" event musical entertainment will continue for the several thousand revelers camping on her property and nearby federal land.
"This is the most fabulous time," West said. "I'm just so grateful that people came. This is their event as much as it is mine."
Lincoln County Sheriff Kerry Lee called activities "pretty calm" early Saturday in Rachel and Hiko
In Nye County, Sheriff Sharon Wehrly reported no one showed up at a main entrance and an auxiliary gate at the once-secret Area 51 U.S. Air Force facility.
Wehrly revised to 100 each the number of people who appeared at each of those gates early Friday near Amargosa Valley, a 90-minute drive west of Las Vegas.
Lee, about a two-hour drive north of Las Vegas, said revelers gathered until about 4 a.m. at two gates between Hiko and Rachel, and said about 20 people broke from among revelers and "acted like they were going to storm but stopped short."
Lee and Wright reported one arrest, for disorderly conduct, at the "Area 51 Basecamp" event Hiko.
Earlier, officials reported five arrests, including one man treated for dehydration by festival medics in Rachel.
Lee said a man reported missing Friday morning after heading Thursday from a festival campground in Hiko toward an Area 51 gate was found safe Friday evening. Details weren't immediately made public.
One could say the vibe among the assembled, which Lee estimates totaled in the low thousands, has remained mostly harmless.
While costumed space aliens were a common and sometimes hilarious sight in events that began Thursday, no one has reported seeing actual extraterrestrials or UFOs.
PHOENIX (AP) — Fernando Tatis Jr. and Jake Cronenworth hit back-to-back homers, Dylan Cease pitched 6 2/3 strong innings and the San Diego Padres won their third game in a row, beating the Arizona Diamondbacks 7-1 on Friday night.
Manny Machado hit a two-run homer. Cronenworth finished with three extra-base hits, adding two doubles.
The Padres had a big offensive game on the same night they learned they might be adding another good hitter. San Diego is close to acquiring two-time batting champion Luis Arráez in a deal with the Marlins.
“I think it's great — you're always looking for more offense and a left-handed bat to balance out the lineup,” Padres manager Mike Shildt said. “But listen, nothing's official. We'll leave it at that.”
The Diamondbacks have lost 10 straight series openers after beating the Colorado Rockies on opening day.
D-backs pitcher Slade Cecconi (1-2) retired the first nine batters he faced, but ran into trouble in the fourth. Jurickson Profar walked to start the inning and Tatis launched a shot to left-center — his seventh homer of the season.
Cronenworth followed with another homer to make it 3-0 and rookie Jackson Merrill broke an 0-for-20 stretch at the plate with a one-out RBI double for a 4-0 lead.
Cronenworth had a down 2023 season, but has looked much more like the hitter who was an All-Star in 2021 and 2022 through the first month of this season. He's batting .279 with six homers and 25 RBIs.
It was Cronenworth’s second straight game with a homer. He hit a grand slam in the team’s 6-2 victory over the Reds on Wednesday.
“It's the right approach with the right swing,” Shildt said. “He's married both. He's driving the ball to all different parts of the field and not trying to do to much.”
Cecconi didn't make it out of the fifth, giving up six runs over 4 1/3 innings.
The Padres' three-homer outburst provided plenty of support for Cease (4-2), the hard-throwing right-hander who gave up just one run on three hits while striking out eight. He didn't allow a walk.
“I think my fastball command was a lot better, which is really a lot of the battle,” Cease said. “When I'm getting my fastball where it needs to go, it opens up a lot of stuff.”
Machado made it 7-0 in the fifth with a two-run homer to left center off reliever Matt Bowman. The scorched line drive came off Machado's bat at 111.7 mph.
The sliding D-backs — defending National League champions — have lost 10 of their past 15 games and fell to 14-19 for the season.
“We got beat tonight,” D-backs manager Torey Lovullo said. "We got out-managed, we got out-pitched, we got out-hit, we got out-coached. We've got to find a way to get the job done and play our type of baseball. That's the bottom line.
“We're grinding away. We're trying.”
Arizona finished with just three hits. Eugenio Suárez had an RBI single in the fifth.
TRAINER'S ROOM
Diamondbacks: Lovullo told reporters that closer Paul Sewald (oblique) and OF Alex Thomas (hamstring) could return to the active roster as soon as Tuesday against the Reds.
UP NEXT
The D-backs will throw RHP Brandon Pfaadt (1-1, 4.63 ERA) while the Padres will counter with RHP Michael King (2-3, 5.00 ERA) on Saturday night.
AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/mlb
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, left, celebrates his double as San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, front right, of South Korea, and umpire Phil Cuzzi (10) look for the baseball during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Diego Padres starting pitcher Dylan Cease throws against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Diego Padres manager Mike Shildt watches the action on the field during the second inning of a baseball game against the Arizona Diamondbacks Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Diego Padres' Manny Machado (13) rounds the bases after hitting a two run home run as Arizona Diamondbacks first baseman Christian Walker, left, pauses at first base during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks relief pitcher Matt Bowman, center, rubs up a new baseball after giving up a two-run home run to San Diego Padres' Manny Machado, left, during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Diego Padres' Manny Machado points to the sky as he rounds the bases after hitting a two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks during the fifth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
Arizona Diamondbacks' Ketel Marte, right, slides safely into second base with a double as San Diego Padres shortstop Ha-Seong Kim, of South Korea, applies a late tag during the first inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
San Diego Padres' Fernando Tatis Jr., right, celebrates his two-run home run against the Arizona Diamondbacks with Padres' Manny Machado (13) during the fourth inning of a baseball game Friday, May 3, 2024, in Phoenix. (AP Photo/Ross D. Franklin)
