diff --git a/mods/ENTITIES/mcl_burning/init.lua b/mods/ENTITIES/mcl_burning/init.lua
index 8133a1fe36..039d295b73 100644
--- a/mods/ENTITIES/mcl_burning/init.lua
+++ b/mods/ENTITIES/mcl_burning/init.lua
@@ -67,6 +67,13 @@ end)
 
 local function on_leaveplayer(player)
 	local storage = mcl_burning.storage[player]
+	if not storage then
+		-- For some unexplained reasons, mcl_burning.storage can be `nil` here.
+		-- Logging this exception to assist in finding the cause of this.
+		minetest.log("warning", "on_leaveplayer: missing mcl_burning.storage "
+				.. "for player " .. player:get_player_name())
+		storage = {}
+	end
 	storage.fire_hud_id = nil
 	player:get_meta():set_string("mcl_burning:data", minetest.serialize(storage))
 	mcl_burning.storage[player] = nil