Man Who Ran Into Flames At Burning Man Festival Dies: Sheriff

BLACK ROCK CITY, Nev. (AP) — Authorities in Nevada say a man who ran into the flames at the Burning Man festival's signature burning ceremony on Saturday has died.

Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen says the man ran through a human-chain of security officers at about 10:30 p.m. Saturday during the Man Burn event at the counter-culture festival.

The sheriff says the man was rescued by firefighters and later died at the UC Davis hospital burn center in California. Festival organizers identified the man as 41-year-old Aaron Joel Mitchell.

About 70,000 people are attending the art and music celebration in the Black Rock Desert, about 100 miles (161 kilometers) north of Reno.

The nine-day event culminates with the burning of a towering 40-foot effigy made of wood. Attendees have tried to run into the flames as a symbol of rebirth.

The festival was briefly hampered when a lightning-sparked wildfire temporarily shut down Burning Man's main travel route last week.The 138-square-mile (359-square-kilometer) wildfire is now 28 percent contained. Burning Man ends Monday.

In a statement, Burning Man said scheduled burns were canceled through noon Sunday but will continue at 8 p.m.

"We’re aware this incident has affected not only those who responded immediately on the scene, but also those who witnessed it, and our Black Rock City community more broadly," the Burning Man statement said.

Resources have been made available to those affected by the man's death.

Photo: 'The Man' burns during the Burning Man festival in the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach, Nev., on Saturday, Aug. 30, 2008. Photo by Brad Horn/Associated Press