Woman Dies at Burning Man Festival’s Opening Day

Mar. 15, 2025

An image from the 2013 Burning Man festival.Photo:Andy Barron/Reno Gazette-Journal, File via AP

FILE - In this Aug. 31, 2013, file photo, the “Man” burns on the Black Rock Desert at Burning Man near Gerlach, Nev. A Nevada sheriff says the man who ran into the flames at the Burning Man festival’s signature burning ceremony has died. Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen identified the man as Aaron Joel Mitchell, 41, who died Sunday, Sept. 3, 2017, morning at the UC Davis hospital burn center in California. (

Andy Barron/Reno Gazette-Journal, File via AP

The opening of this year’sBurning Mantook a tragic turn when a woman died at the annual festival in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.

Emergency services personnel at Burning Man responded to a report that someone was unresponsive at the grounds on Sunday, Aug. 25, at 11:29 a.m. local time, at which time they attempted life-saving measures but were “unsuccessful,” Burning Man organizers said in astatement.

The Pershing County Sheriff’s Office, which identified the female victim, is investigating the incident in Black Rock City and will not release the victim’s name until next of kin are notified.

PEOPLE reached out to the sheriff’s office for comment about the death and subsequent investigation but did not immediately hear back.

An image taken at a past Burning Man in Nevada’s Black Rock Desert.Getty

Burning man

Getty

The sheriff’s office toldSFGatethat the death is under investigation “until a cause and manner can be determined” with an autopsy.

This death comes one year after a 32-year-old Burning Man participant died in September 2023, whenheavy rains trapped thousands of peoplein thick mud for days.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Last year, Leon Reece was found unresponsive on Sept. 1, Pershing County Sheriff Jerry Allen said in a statement at the time, perThe Daily Beast,The New York PostandThe Reno Gazette-Journal.

Burning Man attendees in 2023.JULIE JAMMOT/AFP via Getty

Attendees gather to watch the burning of The Chapel of Babel a work of art by Michael Burlington, during the annual Burning Man Festival in the early morning of September 5, 2023.

JULIE JAMMOT/AFP via Getty

In astatement shared with PEOPLEin October 2023, the Washoe County Regional Medical Examiner’s Office said the manner of Reece’s death was an accident due to drug intoxication: “His cause of death was acute cocaine, ethanol and 3,4- methylenedioxymethamphetamine [also known as ecstasy, MDMA or molly] toxicity.”

Burning Man started in 1986. This year, the festival started Aug. 25 and began Sept. 2. TheBurning Man websitedescribes the city as “a temporary metropolis dedicated to community, art, self-expression and self-reliance” that attracts tens of thousands of festival-goers every year.

source: people.com

Other Posts

Powered by Hugo