Trevor Hughes, Siobhan McAndrew and Jenny Kane

Reno Gazette-Journal

BLACK ROCK CITY, Nev. — The mother of Aaron Joel Mitchell confirmed that her son was the man who died after running into flames at Burning Man on Saturday night.

She said her son, who she called Joel, grew up in McAlester, Okla., but was living in Switzerland.

"He's 41, but they are always your baby," said Johnnye Mitchell.

"He was loving and a nice person," she said. She also has a 35-year old son.

"Joel liked hiking and outdoors, running."

Mitchell said she saw her son on Aug. 1 before he headed to Oregon to go to an Eclipse festival. She knew he was planning to go to Burning Man with friends and it was his first time to the annual festival.

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She said he is married but does not have any children. His wife is from Switzerland. He was working in construction.

"He was in great spirits when we saw him," Mitchell said.

She said she was notified by the hospital early Sunday morning. "We are just in shock, total shock," she said. "We can't believe this happened."

Photos of the incident show Mitchell racing toward the fire, dodging multiple safety rangers, and then plunging into the flames. On-site firefighters in fire-resistant gear pulled him out, rushed him to the on-site medical clinic, and then airlifted him to University of California-Davis Firefighters Burn Institute Regional Burn Center, where he died.

It remains unclear whether Mitchell was trying to run into the fire or tripped and fell into it while trying to avoid security staff.

Authorities said Mitchell was not drunk, and that other toxicology testing was pending.

Crisis counselors were being offered to witnesses and friends following Mitchell's horrifying death.

"Now is a time for closeness, contact and community. Trauma needs processing," the Burning Man organization said in a statement. "Promote calls, hugs, self-care, check-ins, and sleep."

One safety ranger who witnessed the incident teared up as she told her campmates early Sunday morning how she tried but failed to stop the man.

Law enforcement and Burning Man staff were investigating the incident. Rangers who worked the event are told in advance to look out for three kinds of people likely to rush toward the fire: people trying to get attention, like a streaker, people who are on drugs or intoxicated and don't understand the danger, and the suicidal.

The annual Burning Man festival draws 70,000 people to create a temporary city in the northern Nevada desert, and the week each year culminates with the burning of the Man structure Saturday night and then the Temple structure on Sunday. Mitchell's death cast a pall over what had been a cheerful, high-energy event filled with fantastical art and sculpture, dance concerts and food giveaways.

Burning Man officials didn't immediately respond to questions about what additional safety precautions would be taken for Sunday night's Temple burn, if any, but they did temporarily halt smaller burns set for Sunday morning.

Participants on Saturday night ringed the 40-foot-tall Man structure and watched fire dancers and fireworks before the wooden structure was set ablaze. Multiple rings of security rangers kept the crowd from getting too close to the flames, and anyone who charged through the lines was supposed to be intercepted by rangers with orders to tackle anyone who got too close.

The annual arts festival in the Black Rock Desert attracts 70,000 to the city on a dry lake bed two hours north of Reno.

The site of the effigy burn was still smoldering and roped off with flags early Sunday morning. Fewer than a dozen rangers guarded the site, which is normal for the day after the big burn.

The playa still pounded with deep bass music as art cars and people continued riding about.

The mass exodus of thousands began Saturday night and lasts through Labor Day as Burners once again return to regular life.

Follow Trevor Hughes, Siobhan McAndrew and Jenny Kane on Twitter: @Trevor Hughes, @Siobhanmcandrew and @Jenny_Kane