Officials say homeless people were living inside the vacant structures and that witnesses had seen warming fires.

As Multnomah County faces speculation of “gross negligence” for its sudden announcement that homeless services could be axed due to a budget shortfall, the county board and Portland City Council met Wednesday to discuss a path forward.

Makeshift stoves” used by homeless people are the likely cause of the blaze that tore through an industrial building at the former Blue Heron paper mill in Oregon City last month, fire inspectors have concluded.