Aaron Joel Mitchell
Aaron Joel Mitchell
Aaron Mitchell
Aaron Joel Mitchell was an American from McAlester, Oklahoma. who died while participating at the Burning Man Festival in September 2017.
Personal Life
Mitchell grew up in McAlester, Oklahoma and was living in Switzerland at the time of his death.
His wife was from Switzerland and he enjoyed hiking, outdoors, running. He was working in construction.
Death
On September 2, 2017, Mitchell ran through a safety perimeter at Burning Man and ran into the fire of the massive burning effigy at around 10:30 p.m local time. He was rescued by on-site fire personnel and transported by air to UC Davis Medical Center.
He was pronounced dead at 6:28 a.m.
Mitchell was not under the influence of alcohol.
A toxicology screening is pending.
Aftermath
Burning Man organizers had cancelled burns through noon Sunday, but would go ahead with the 8:00 p.m. temple burn, which signals the end of the nine-day festival.
Background of Burning Man
Burning Man is an annual gathering that started in the late-1980s and currently takes place at Black Rock City, a temporary community erected in the Black Rock Desert in Nevada Nevada about 100 miles north of Reno. The event is described as an experiment in community and art, and is attended by tens of thousands of people every year.