Storm Area 51 Facebook Event: Even Though The Event Is A Gag, People Are Still Camping At Rachel, Nevada

It started off as a gag event organized on Facebook. “Storm Area 51, They Can’t Stop All Of Us” promised to expose what people thought was really hiding at Area 51 — aliens. Using a tactic called the Naruto run, people thought if they just ran fast enough, and with a large enough group, then some would make it through the gates and find out once and for all if Area 51 contained aliens.

Of course, it was never meant to be a real event and the organizers have maintained this constantly since the event started gaining traction. More than 2.1 million people have RSVPed to say that they will be attending. 1.5 million more say that they are “interested” in attending. So, even if the event is just a joke, there is still the very real possibility that people would turn up at the gates of Area 51, a restricted area in Nevada.

In light of this, the original organizers decided to make the whole event into a music festival. As previously reported by The Inquisitr, this event didn’t turn out as planned either thanks to “the lack of infrastructure, poor planning, risk management and blatant disregard for the safety of the expected 10,000+ AlienStock attendees.” However, events were finally organized, one of which is in Las Vegas.

Meanwhile, in Rachel, the town closest to Area 51, people are starting to turn up. Already, multiple cars have been sighted parked off the highway. Tents are also present as people settle in. Some of these people have U.S. flags or others showing aliens in support of the event.

“We came out here camping, to ride the machines because it sounded like a cool event,” Ken Faulhaver, 64, of Las Vegas said, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

“We’re here to see the people.”

However, it seems that these people, while camping at the town closest to Area 51, are actually here for the parties. Alienstock, the original party scheduled in lieu of the Storm Area 51 event, is scheduled for Thursday through Sunday. Area 51 Basecamp is the other major event and will be held on Friday and Saturday in Hiko, which is approximately 40 miles from Rachel.

As yet, it is unclear just how many people will turn up at Rachel in anticipation of these events. However, speculation has ranged from a few thousand right up to 50,000 people descending on the small township. In addition, it is unclear if any of these attendees will actually decide to raid Area 51, thus forcing authorities to remain on high alert.

For those that are curious about what will happen at Area 51 today but are not prepared to get arrested by authorities, a YouTube channel has set up a livestream.