Dozens of families left homeless after a fire at a Burnsville apartment complex have an early Christmas present waiting for them — a $1 million donation.

An anonymous donor contributed the money today to a community fund set up by the Goodman Group, the Chaska-based firm that owns and manages the Burncliff Apartments.

The contribution averages more than $15,000 for each of the 64 households left homeless by Monday’s blaze, which displaced between 180 and 190 people.

Details of how the money will be distributed have not yet been disclosed.

Jean Golden, a spokeswoman for the Goodman Group, said company chairman John Goodman set up a $50,000 fund at U.S. Bank after the fire. A business executive contributed an additional $50,000, and donations also began flooding U.S. Bank locations across the metro area.

The whopper came this afternoon.

Golden said the contribution already had been deposited with the bank and no one at the Goodman Group knows the identity of the donor.

The challenge now will be to locate the scores of displaced residents, some of whom may have left the state to stay with relatives.

“We spent the majority of the day verifying and confirming that it was a legitimate gift,” said Dan Peterka, president of the Goodman Group.

Cashier’s checks will be distributed from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesday at the Burncliff Apartments. Residents should bring a driver’s license or passport.

The complex at 12312 Parkwood Drive consists of two three-story buildings with 64 units each. Residents of Building A, which was considered a total loss, are eligible for the funds. At 2:30 p.m. Monday, residents began returning to the neighboring Building B, which was evacuated overnight as a precaution.

Minnesotans’ holiday spirit was on full display elsewhere today as donations poured in at nearby Burnsville High School, where 29 fire victims from 16 different families spent Monday night in the gymnasium.

For Tammy Brynteson, life can’t get anything but better.

She lost everything but the clothes on her back.

“But honestly, this has been great,” Brynteson said of the piles of presents stacked on tables inside the high school. “We walked in the door and got toys for my grandkids.”

Brynteson estimated she lost about $1,000 worth of gifts, but now her grandchildren will still have Christmas.

Carrie Nolan, director of communications and marketing for the Twin Cities chapter of the American Red Cross, said she wasn’t sure how many would remain at the high school’s shelter on tonight.

Others who were displaced but had found somewhere else to stay came to sift through the piles of donated clothing, diapers and toiletries as the school morphed into a service center.

The Red Cross also provided counseling to victims.

“We’re helping people deal with the aftermath of this horrible disaster,” Nolan said.

Nearly 200 people were left homeless by the fire, but no one was injured.

More than 120 firefighters from six departments fought the blaze for six hours after it was reported about 4 p.m. Monday.

The apartment building, which was constructed in 1969, did not have a sprinkler system.

The fire’s cause hadn’t been determined, but one resident said Monday night that there was smoke coming from an electrical box above a washer and dryer in a third-floor laundry room.

A history of fire inspections at the Burncliff Apartments was not available today.

For most victims gathered at Burnsville High School, losing their homes three days before Christmas was all but overwhelming.

Sharon Rhymes was on a bus coming home from Chicago, where she had just buried her mother, when a loved one called her to tell her about the fire.

A few days before her mother died, she had gotten some personal bad news.

“In 10 days, I got diagnosed with cancer, I lost my mother, and I lost my home,” Rhymes said through tears. “It’s just terrible.”

Rhymes is living with relatives until she finds a new place to live.

Frank French, the CEO of the Goodman Group, said his company is helping residents relocate into other area apartments.

About 20 of the 64 households in the fire-ravaged Building A had Section 8 vouchers, said Mark Ulfers, executive director of the Dakota County Community Development Agency. Ulfers said his agency was offering lists of available apartments. He said some local apartment owners had contacted the agency to say they had openings and would offer good rates to tenants who had been displaced.

French said his firm, which plans to rebuild Building A as soon as possible, was touched by the local support.

“It’s amazing,” French said. “I’m so proud of the community.”

After Thanksgiving, 21-year-old Janice Cotton wrapped her 1-year-old daughter a doll and her 4-year-old son a portable Nintendo video game system for the holidays. On Monday, she watched the Christmas presents she had been hiding and everything else she owns disappear in flames.

“Everything — we lost everything,” she said.

Cotton was the first person displaced by the fire to stop by the Salvation Army’s toy giveaway at the Rosemount Armory today. Cotton, who has been staying with her godparents in Prior Lake, selected a doll and Legos for her kids.

Shortly after the fire, people, organizations and businesses flooded the Burnsville High School gym with donations, including food, car seats, diapers and gift certificates. The high school girls basketball team was the first on the scene Monday night, said Ruth Dunn, spokeswoman for the Burnsville-Eagan-Savage School District.

The team was playing a game in the gym when the fire started. Students sent text messages to each other asking for donations of toys and wrapping paper. Students donated more than 500 toys within hours. They stayed up until early this morning wrapping them.

The next day, the student council started a fund drive throughout the school. By 10:30 a.m., they had raised more than $5,000. Teachers canceled health and physical education classes today so families could use the gym and volunteers could collect donations.

Fire victim Rhonda Hayes was waiting at the gym to return to her apartment. She said she was touched by the outpouring of generosity.

“The way the community came together, it’s enough to make you cry, more than not having a place to stay,” she said. “Now you know you can depend on the community. We live in the right place.”

Maricella Miranda contributed to this report.

Jessica Fleming can be reached at jfleming@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-5435. Frederick Melo can be reached at fmelo@pioneerpress.com or 651-228-2172.

Drop off checks at any U.S. Bank location and make them payable to U.S. Bank/Burncliff Apartments. Use account number 1047-9040-3729.

Mail checks to the complex’s owner, the Goodman Group: Burncliff Apartment Fund, Suite 200, Chaska, MN 55318.

Monetary donations are being collected by the American Red Cross Twin Cities Area Chapter at 612-460-3700. Donations also can be sent to P.O. Box 1450, Minneapolis MN 55485 or given online at redcrosstc.org. Donations are tax-deductible.

Donations of gifts or necessities can be given to the Community Action Council’s collection site at Willoway Apartments, 13401 Morgan Ave. S. in Burnsville.

The Salvation Army is collecting toys for the families affected by the fire. Toys can be donated from 9 a.m. to noon Wednesday at 2445 Prior Ave. N. in Roseville. There currently is no need for donations of clothing or furniture. Monetary donations can be given online at thesalarmy.org., by calling 1-800-SAL-ARMY or by mailing checks to the Salvation Army, 2445 Prior Ave. N., Roseville, MN 55113. Donations should be labeled Burnsville Fire.

A drop-off site for donations has been established at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church — Christian Life Center, at 13901 Fairview Drive, in Burnsville. Donations should be delivered to Door J.

Contributions will no longer be accepted at the Burnsville High School location.

