More than 200 unhoused people in Minneapolis were forced to find new places to sleep this week after two large homeless encampment fires that have also reignited conversations around safety issues at encampments and how the city responds to them.

The causes of the recent fires have not yet been determined, according to the city.

The size of the fires shocked Minneapolis residents who saw large plumes of smoke rise above south Minneapolis on Monday, although encampment fires are nothing new in the city, especially in the winter. Since the beginning of 2024, there have been at least four major fires at large city encampments, including the two Monday.

This week’s fires erupted within 20 minutes of each other, at camps near the intersections of Lake Street and Columbus Avenue S., and 29th Street and 14th Avenue S. Firefighters and residents could hear loud explosions from propane tanks within the Lake Street encampment, though no one was injured in either fire.

In order to survive during the winter in encampments, camp residents often use wood or propane to keep small controlled fires. Outreach workers have also observed the use of alternative fuels, such as alcohol-based hand sanitizers.

Combined with the presence of explosive propane tanks and nearby tents and yurts in a compact area, it makes for a dangerous situation, Assistant Fire Chief Melanie Rucker said in an email Wednesday.

“There are safety precautions for using propane tanks that are hard to follow or not being followed in an outdoor encampment environment, which increases the risk of fires,” she said.

The propane tanks have been a particular source of concern from neighbors and city officials. In three of the fires in Minneapolis encampments over the past year, propane tanks have exploded and expedited the spread of flames. When these tanks explode, they also launch shrapnel and other debris in all directions, Rucker said.

Given the number of potential items that can start or spread a fire, it’s often difficult for investigators to determine a cause. A month after a February 2024 fire near the intersection of 28th Street and 12th Avenue S., the city’s fire officials said they were unable to determine what started it.

The fires often spark criticism from many on social media who believe encampment residents should find more stable living situations. But many who live in encampments end up there because of complex challenges such as drug addiction, a recent eviction and/or an escape from domestic violence.

David Andrews, an associate director with Agate Housing, a nonprofit committed to ending homelessness, said some people will avoid shelters because of a traumatic experience they may have had there.

“For various reasons, living in large, congregate settings is not for everybody,” Andrews said. “The real need is for housing, not for shelter.”

Many advocates and camp organizers agree that encampments can be unsafe, but they say that too much emphasis is on clearing encampments instead of connecting residents with services.

“We really need to be focusing on recovery and having those resources for people who are in harm reduction settings to move into recovery and beat their addiction,” said Nicole Mason, an advocate and organizer for one of the encampments that burned down.

After Monday’s fires, the city and Metro Transit arranged for a bus to act as a temporary warming station for the displaced. The city bulldozed and cleared both sites Tuesday morning, including one of the encampments where some of the tents were untouched by the flames.

Mason said 45 people who were displaced were connected with an impromptu emergency shelter organized by the Minnesota Indian Women’s Resource Center, which set up cots in the center’s gymnasium.

Many others from the encampments began walking the streets and likely slept outside, Mason said. The city worked with the nonprofit Involve MN, located at Agate Housing and Food Services Food Centre, to connect those who were displaced and in need of help, Minneapolis’ Director of Regulatory Services Enrique Velazquez said in a statement.

“The bottom line is encampments are not safe any time of year,” Velazquez said.

Organizer Christin Crabtree criticized the response by workers who cleared the partially damaged encampment. In a press release from a group called the Nenookaasi Coalition, Crabtree said that only “a few” of the camp’s residents were allowed to retrieve their belongings before the site was leveled.

The fires are also a major concern of housed neighbors, some of whom have had their properties damaged in the past. In two previous fires in December and February 2024, several houses were either partially melted or burned to the point of being inhabitable.

Service providers will be offering additional aid for people experiencing homelessness from Monday evening through noon on Wednesday in the Indian Women’s Resource Center gym, Mason noted. The center is also welcoming donations of warm clothing or hygiene products, she said.