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

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.”

Crews are at work Thursday shutting down one of St. Paul’s largest homeless encampments near the Bruce Vento Homeless Sanctuary. St. Paul city officials are shutting it down for what they say are safety reasons.