A brush fire originating at a homeless encampment on Sunday sent up plumes of smoke and gave fresh motivation to officials who want to take a tough stance toward Federal Way’s transient population.

No one was injured in the fire, which started around noon in a wooded area north of 13th Place South and South 332nd Street and spread rapidly to a nearby tow yard.

“What made this a little more unusual and a little more smokey was that trees got involved,” said South King Fire and Rescue Capt. Jeff Bellinghausen. “Trees help spread sparks, and some sparks got into a boat and set the boat on fire.”

It’s unclear exactly what caused the fire. The location, away from a road, forced firefighters to halt the blaze by means that would have washed evidence away.

“We used the ladder truck and put the ladder out into the woods and sprayed hundreds of gallons of water,” Bellinghausen said, adding that the fire was likely caused by the makeshift cooking equipment frequently used in homeless encampments.

Sunday’s fire came four months after Federal Way Mayor Jim Ferrell, Police Chief Andy Hwang, and two deputy police chiefs toured an encampment that had burned and a few weeks before the dry summer months began. That February tour prompted a plan, now called the Homeless Encampment Services Initiative, to remove homeless people who set up on public lands.

“As we enter the dry season, the fire danger rises dramatically,” Ferrell said in a statement. “The damage to property and potentially life would be much more significant if this happened in late July or August. There are children in these encampments, and Federal Way will not stand by and risk their lives.”

City officials have long said that drug use and fire hazards are abound at such camps. In the lead-up to introducing the Homeless Encampment Services Initiative, city officials circulated photos taken from various encampment tours that showed propane tanks, used needles, garbage, and human waste strewn across the ground.

Steve McNey, spokesman for the mayor’s office, said the fire hazards and drug use are reason enough to be concerned, but the combination of the two makes matters more dangerous.

“If there’s a fire and these guys are on heroin? Within that first hour, they’re going to burn to death,” McNey said. “This is not a way for human beings to live. This is a public safety issue.

“If this would have happened a month from now it could have been much worse.”