BLACK ROCK CITY, Nev. (AP) — A Burning Man co-founder says federal officials urged the counter-culture festival to cancel a Sunday burn ceremony or beef up security after a man died from a fire the night before.
The Reno Gazette-Journal reports that Burning Man co-founder Crimson Rose said the Bureau of Land Management intervened in light of the death of 41-year-old Aaron Joel Mitchell.
Authorities say Mitchell died hours after he rushed past two layers of security Saturday night during the festival's signature Man Burn, when a towering effigy is burned as a symbol of rebirth.
Burning Man proceeded with the Sunday night burning of a temple with a metal fence and hundreds more volunteers standing watch in the Black Rock Desert in northern Nevada.
BLM didn't immediately respond to requests for comment.