- The major fire injured two people on Thursday and caused minor damage to two houses
- Firefighters battled the flames for 30 minutes after the blaze ripped through the encampment
- Dramatic aerial photos show the camp razed and covered in ash
Terrifying footage shows the moment a massive fire rips through a homeless camp in Minneapolis as desperate residents flee with their belongings.
The fire ripped through the settlement on Thursday, injuring two people and destroying dozens of tents.
Dramatic video captures the moment flames engulfed the encampment, where about 100 people lived.
The footage shows residents desperately trying to gather their belongings as they flee the site.
Huge clouds of smoke and flames swirl around the tents.
A fire has destroyed a homeless camp in Minneapolis, injuring two people
The fire ripped through the settlement on Thursday, injuring two people and destroying dozens of tents
When the fire broke out, about a hundred people lived in the encampment
“Everybody come out,” John Gonzalez, a journalist with Standing Bear Network, an indigenous media group, can be heard shouting. “Control these yards, everyone out!”
Devastating photos show the aftermath of the fire, which destroyed the encampment.
“After we saw the flames, things started exploding,” Gonzalez said CBS.
“They were propane canisters, there were fire extinguishers and things started exploding. A big fireball engulfing everything.”
Two people were treated at the scene for burns and smoke inhalation and two nearby houses suffered minor damage.
“I grabbed my dog and ran out the front door,” local resident Ashley Jensen told the newspaper, adding that she had contacted city officials several days earlier about finding needles in her backyard.
“The saddest part was that all these people lost their homes because it was difficult to have them as neighbors,” she added.
The fire brigade was called to the scene around noon and managed to extinguish the fire within 30 minutes.
But they warned that the situation could have been much worse if there was wind.
The fire brigade was called to the scene around noon and managed to extinguish the fire within 30 minutes
Footage shows residents desperately trying to gather their belongings as they flee the site
“It’s a very dangerous situation when you have that many flammable materials next to open flames and propane tanks,” Fire Chief Brian Tyner said.
Mayor Jacob Frey reiterated the potential dangers of encampments and his desire to move residents into permanent housing.
“Homeless camps of this significant size are not safe,” Frey said. “They are not safe for the people living in the homeless camp. They are not safe for the surrounding neighbors.’
But just hours later, a new camp had emerged, according to WCCO.
The camp was closed three times before it burned down.
On Friday, workers were seen dumping concrete at the site of the fire.
Minneapolis is experiencing an increase in homelessness, with numbers rising 24 percent by December 2023 after a period of steady declines, according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
