Storm Area 51: The joke that became a ‘possible humanitarian disaster’
‘Storm Area 51’: it started as a joke, but the US military isn’t amused
In Nevada's remote southern county of Lincoln lie two unassuming towns, their combined population, 173. Surrounded by arid landscapes and dusty roads as far as the eye can see, the towns of Rachel and Hiko appear unremarkable.
What makes them special, however, is their proximity to a top-secret US Air Force base, commonly known as Area 51. The mysterious military test area, long associated with UFO conspiracy theories, has cemented their place in alien folklore.
In these isolated towns, from 19 September, tens of thousands of people are expected to gather for two festivals, Alienstock and Storm Area 51 Basecamp.
Unlike most large-scale festivals, these events were not years in the making. Instead, they stemmed from an internet joke posted to Facebook just four months ago.
In a whirlwind few months, the person behind that joke helped organise one of those festivals, which he now fears could be a "possible humanitarian disaster".

In June, 20-year-old Matty Roberts, a student from Bakersfield, California, posted a tongue-in-cheek Facebook event.
The name of the Facebook event was: "Storm Area 51, They Can't Stop All of Us". The plan, as the name implied, was to charge at the base in large enough numbers to bypass security.
Once inside the facility, the supposed secrets lurking within - the alien technology and clandestine government research - could finally be disclosed to the public. "Let's see them aliens", the event's description declared, albeit flippantly.
Within days of its launch, the event became a viral sensation, making headlines across the world.
"I posted the Area 51 Facebook event at about 2am on June 27," Mr Roberts told the BBC. "It was totally a joke from the get-go. There was just a tonne of attention out of nowhere and it was awesome."
As it stands, more than 3.5 million people have expressed interest in attending the event on 20 September. Mr Roberts said there is a "good handful taking it seriously".
One of them is 33-year-old real estate investor Art Frasik, from Ohio. He told the BBC that he and others were determined to enter the facility to "expose and embrace the discovery of the aliens".
"I'm going into Area 51 because our American tax dollars funds this facility and after 70 years of hiding alien technology from the world, it's our right to see it," he wrote in a Facebook message.
Two men, a YouTuber and his friend, both from the Netherlands, have already been arrested three miles inside a restricted zone near the Area 51 base. Charged with trespassing on Tuesday, Ties Granzier, 20, and Govert Sweep, 21, told police they "wanted to look at the facility".
Mr Roberts has echoed that warning, saying he doesn't want anyone to get hurt. After the Facebook event went viral, FBI agents knocked on his door to question his intentions. Mr Roberts assured the agents he "wasn't building pipe bombs or something insane".
But what began as his "funny idea for a meme page" has escalated beyond his control. For the US Air Force and the counties of Lincoln and Nye, Area 51 trespassers could be the least of their worries.
Keith Wright, an organiser for Storm Area 51 Basecamp, told the BBC they have capacity for around 5,000 people.
Day passes for the event cost $51 (£41) per person, with parking, two bottles of water, a $10 food truck voucher included in the price. On-site accommodation is limited to tents (costing $50 per day) or parking for RVs and trailers (costing $150 per day).
Mr Wright, 49, said there's a "fair amount" of public space for tents, while water, electrical and sanitary needs are covered. But if the numbers exceed the tens of thousands "there's no way they can be taken care of by the existing infrastructure", he said.