DULUTH, Minn. — Officials are investigating after a fire at a Duluth homeless encampment sent smoke billowing up over Interstate 35.
The Duluth Fire Department said crews responded to the blaze just after 6 p.m. Monday after receiving multiple calls from drivers. They found "billowing smoke" rising from a large homeless encampment under the interstate near the Mesaba Avenue exit.
Firefighters searching the area removed several propane tanks, including one that had released fuel and accelerated the fire. They didn't find any people in the encampment and said no one was hurt.
In an update to the DFD Facebook page, fire officials said crews were challenged by dangerous conditions caused by "drug paraphernalia and multiple sources of fuel, including propane and gasoline."
Officials said a construction crew in the area helped firefighters put out the blaze by providing water from their tanker truck. It took crews less than an hour and a half to extinguish the flames.
“I appreciate the fast thinking by the Ames Construction crew and the assistance that they provided," Assistant Chief Dennis Edwards said via Facebook. "Thanks to them we were able to extinguish the fire a lot faster than we would have without their help.”
DFD said the fire is under investigation.
