Fire engulfs encampment in central Winnipeg Friday night

No injuries were reported after a temporaryencampment in central Winnipeg went up in flames Friday evening, the city says.

Crews from the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Servicearrived around 7:40 p.m., the City of Winnipeg said in a news release Saturday morning.

Theyfound a large fire already engulfing what the news release described as several improvised structures in the encampment in the 100 block of Higgins Avenue.

That part of Higgins is east of Main Street and just north of the city's downtown area.

Heat from the fire also damaged nearby hydro lines, and surrounding structures were protected until the utility lines could be disconnected, the release said.

The fire was declared under control about 20 minutes after crews arrived. Emergency responders didn't find anyone in any of the improvised structures.

The cause of the fire is still under investigation, the release said.

The fire comes after the City of Winnipeg banned encampments and fires under or near bridges because of safety concerns.

The city said it hasseen a jump in the number of fires around bridges from 56 in all of last year to 96 as of Sept. 22 this year.

Last February, one person was killed after an explosion at a homeless encampment at Higgins and Anabella Street, close to where Friday night's fire happened.

And a year ago this month, a person was sent to hospital in unstable condition after a fire broke out at an encampment near the Maryland Street bridge.