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…
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