Michele Knutson, 37, walked around the encampment at Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary Thursday snapping photos of the empty tents she and others lived in before it would be gone. “I’m not surprised because this is a sanctuary,” Knutson said. “There’s time when we give the sanctuary back that’s the reason why it’s a sanctuary.”

Dozens lived in the encampment near Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary, which was torn down Thursday due to growing safety concerns.

The city of St. Paul on Thursday is working to clear a homeless encampment near the Bruce Vento Nature Sanctuary. As previously reported, the “process of closing the encampment” began on Jan. 7, according to a city spokesperson.