COEUR d'ALENE - A fire broke out Friday in a densely wooded area frequented by transients behind the shopping center on Canfield Avenue that includes Target and Ross Dress for Less.

Coeur d'Alene Fire Department Deputy Chief Glenn Lauper said the fire was accidental and burned up a tent and its contents. He said the ignition source came from inside the tent.

"We're pretty empathetic to the homeless," Lauper said. "We just want them to be safe."

Sgt. Christie Wood, of the Coeur d'Alene Police Department, said officers responded to assist firefighters but otherwise took no action.

April Anderson, a Ross employee, said she had just been shopping at the store and noticed black smoke billowing up from the woods after 11 a.m. when she left the store.

She walked into the woods to see the source and heard a bunch of people yelling and arguing.

"We could tell the energy was heightened, so we didn't want to get too close to the people and tick them off," said Bridget Smith, who had been with Anderson.

They called 911.

Ted Whittaker, a Hayden resident who said he works with Kootenai County search and rescue, helped extinguish the fire after spotting it before firefighters could arrive.

He said a heater inside a tent ignited the contents.

"It caught some clothing, then the tent, and then some plastic pallets underneath they were using as bedding to get off the ground," Whittaker said.

The transient camp had several tents, he said.

He said one large tent had about eight to 10 people living in it.

"It's quite large, quite dirty, filthy, trashed," Whittaker said.

No injuries were reported.