Fire destroys several buildings on Minnesota Renaissance Festival grounds

A fire destroyed several buildings on the grounds of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival near Shakopee on Thursday night.

The festival is in its offseason, and was closed at the time of the fire. One firefighter suffered minor injuries.

In a statement, festival organizers thanked local fire departments and other agencies who responded to the scene.

“While we are heartbroken by the damage, we are already looking ahead. The Minnesota Renaissance Festival community is resilient, and we will work to rebuild and bring back the magic as soon as possible,” the statement read.

Shakopee fire officials said they received a call about multiple buildings on fire on the festival grounds around 6 p.m. Thursday.

The Renaissance Festival grounds contain dozens of buildings, booths and stages. Shakopee Fire Chief Mike Nelson said crews found the fire burning in a row of multi-story stores and concession stands, about 20 in all. About five were on fire when first responders arrived.

The festival is located southwest of Shakopee, between the Minnesota River and U.S. Highway 169. It’s somewhat isolated, surrounded in part by a gravel pit — and there’s no municipal water supply to the site. Nelson said his department called in backup from other nearby fire departments, for trucks to haul in water. Ten tenders shuttled water from fire hydrants in Shakopee to the festival grounds.

Nelson said the gravel roads used to reach the site, and mud caused by Thursday’s rain, also proved challenging for fire crews.

The flames were mostly extinguished by 8 p.m.; crews left the scene around 11:30 p.m. Nelson estimated that six structures burned, but 15 to 20 others in that row of buildings were saved.

Thunderstorms with lightning were moving through the area on Thursday evening, but there’s no word yet on the cause of the fire. Shakopee fire officials said that the State Fire Marshal’s Office is leading the investigation.

It’s not the first fire to affect the festival grounds. In 2011, an early morning fire during the run of that year’s festival destroyed a food booth and damaged several other booths nearby. At that time, officials noted the challenge caused by a lack of hydrants on the grounds to supply water for firefighting; water had to be trucked in.

The Renaissance Festival is scheduled to begin its new season in August. Famed magic and comedy duo Penn & Teller — who performed together for the first time at the festival in 1975 — are set to make an appearance to mark their 50th anniversary.

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