Fire near Bemidji State campus prompts temporary evacuation

Editor's note: This story was updated 12:30 p.m. Friday, April 17, with additional details about the incident.

BEMIDJI — No one was injured in what appeared to be an explosive fire near the Bemidji State University campus on Thursday, April 16.

Neighbors around 15th Street and Bixby Avenue reported hearing a large boom around 2:30 p.m., and people on campus reported witnessing a fireball.

In a Friday news release, Bemidji Fire said the explosion was a result of multiple propane cylinders being exposed to heat from the fire, causing the pressurized gas to expand rapidly.

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An aerial view of the fire scene on the 1500 block of Bixby Avenue in Bemidji on April 16, 2026.

Contributed / Bemidji Fire

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Emergency personnel form a perimeter around the 1500 block of Bixby Avenue Northeast in Bemidji following a fire on April 16, 2026.

Larissa Donovan / KAXE

Bemidji Fire Chief Justin Sherwood said in an interview Friday that around a dozen people were temporarily evacuated from the block Thursday. Power was restored later that afternoon.

While the cause remains under investigation, Sherwood reported that it appears to have been accidentally caused by an unattended campfire.

"When the wind picked up, it had some fire spread," Sherwood said.

Two garages and their contents were destroyed in the fire, with one nearby house and a vehicle sustaining moderate damage.

Personnel from Bemidji Fire, Bemidji Ambulance Service, Beltrami County Sheriff's Office, Minnesota State Patrol and the Bemidji Police Department responded to the scene during a temporary evacuation of the block.

Utility workers from Minnesota Energy Resources and Ottertail Power were also on hand.