Firefighters declared a 5-acre brush fire in Canyon Country knocked down less than an hour after it was reported, according to Fire Department officials.

“We had massive resources ready,” said Stephanie English, Fire Department spokeswoman. Within a half-hour of the blaze, English said three helicopters, two superscooper aircraft and a sky crane had been dispatched and was on the scene of the blaze.
“We’ve prestaged for events just like this starting this morning just for this purpose,” English said. “Because we knew that the threat was real, and we were more than ready to hit it.”

The report of the fire came less than a day after fire officials issued a red-flag warning, English said.

Luckily, 15 mph winds were not as bad as expected for the afternoon, she added, but that’s why preparation was such a priority. The winds are supposed to pick up Thursday evening and into Friday, English said.

Bowman High School students were evacuated to the nearby Activities Center for release to their parents. The school’s evening session has been cancelled, according to an email to parents from Bowman Pri8ncipal Robin Geissler. The nearby Creative Years pre-school was also evacuated, according to administrators.

No other evacuations were reported by officials.