in response to the incident festival organizers and local police are focusing on the safety of the thousands of other guests who chose to stay on at the event which is held in at the black rock desert until it officially comes to a close on monday aaron joel mitchell 41 broke through two levels of security and into the flames earlier this weekend during one of the festivals closing ceremonies the man burn later dying at a california hospital from his injuries nevadas pershing county sheriffs office told abc news since 2013 the festival has averaged around 67000 people attending each year mitchell was a us citizen who was apparently living in switzerland with his wife according to the sheriffs office the sheriffs office is also offering up assistance while it works with attendees to investigate the incident read man dies after rushing into burning man festival flames related authorities investigate death of man at burning man festival according to medical staff aaron was not under the influence of alcohol and a toxicology screening is pending the sheriffs office said in a statement the pershing county sheriffs office is extending any services we have available to assist with this tragedy you can reach 247 crisis and suicide hotlines at 18002738255 or 7757848090 the statement continued were 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 this event is also a tragedy to all burners the sheriffs office said using a nickname for attendees burning man is a festival that has been active since 1986 with just 20 participants at the start as attendees grew over the years the festival moved to black rock in the 1990s in the past the wooden effigy at the center of the closing man burn ceremony has reached up to 90 feet in height you can also text listen to 839863 some of the resources for festival goers and staff include emotional support teams and peer counseling according to organizers especially the juveniles who are allowed to attend the festival and may not have the same coping skills as adults do when they see something this tragic happen before their eyes organizers told festival goers in the statement that if they are feeling the need to talk to someone dont wait mr mitchells family has been advised of his death we are working to make resources available to those affected 151 after a man died from burns suffered at burning man in nevada the festivals organizers are focusing on the safety of its thousands of other attendees and staff with just hours left in the weeklong event there is an ongoing investigation into mitchells death the sheriffs office added burning man is working with local and federal law enforcement agencies and an investigation is currently ongoing festival organizers wrote on their official site sunday