Massive fire destroys abandoned NE Minneapolis commercial buildings, neighbors react

Northeast Minneapolis commercial buildings destroyed in fire

Minneapolis firefighters say a massive fire took off inside of an abandoned lumber warehouse Sunday morning before spreading to a total of four abandoned commercial buildings.

MINNEAPOLIS (FOX 9) - Neighbors in northeast Minneapolis woke up in disbelief on Sunday morning, as a massive fire made a chilly September day feel more like mid-July.

Massive fire in northeast Minneapolis

The backstory:

"This morning at 4:30 in the morning… I smelled some smoke," neighbor Washington Castillo said. "When I walked on my deck, I could see the flames. They were like so high up, I was like wait a minute, is that my neighbor's house?"

Minneapolis firefighters say the fire took off inside of an abandoned lumber warehouse, before spreading to a total of four abandoned commercial buildings.

NE Minneapolis fire aerial footage [RAW]

A fire in northeast Minneapolis on Sunday led to crews battling a blaze that ultimately spread to several buildings before it was extinguished.

Parts of the structures collapsed in the heat.

Cause of the fire under investigation

What they're saying:

For now, Minneapolis Fire Assistant Chief Melanie Rucker says the cause of the fire is unknown.

Minneapolis fire chief details NE blaze [FULL]

Minneapolis Fire Department Chief Melanie Rucker details the efforts crews are making to control a blaze affecting commercial buildings in northeast Minneapolis Sunday morning.

"All the buildings were boarded up, and then the ones that we were able to remove boards and gain access, when we searched those buildings, they were empty," Rucker said. "There might’ve been some unhoused population in the area."

Minneapolis Fire officials say utility lines to the building were disconnected before the fire.

Crews work all day as neighbors watch

What we know:

Fire crews stayed on scene throughout the day Sunday, spraying water to prevent any sparks from spreading the fire to neighboring buildings; and they had a crowd watching them.

"They’ve been working hard ever since I saw them," Castillo said. "Over like 25 years living here in the neighborhood, I’ve never seen something like that. We are thankful for the firefighters… My concern was maybe the ashes would reach towards our house and there goes our neighborhood."

"They’re doing a good job," onlooker Jake Stelfleg said.