BIRMINGHAM, Ala. — Deputies from the Jefferson County Sheriff's Office responded to a report that a tree had fallen on a school bus Thursday morning.

Deputies and fire rescue personnel arrived at the scene to find a large tree that had fallen across the roadway, coming to rest on the front of the bus. Power lines were brought down and laid across the top rear of the bus.

Twenty children and a driver were inside the school bus. After assessing the situation, fire personnel backed a rescue truck to the rear emergency exit of the bus and opened the doors. They boarded the bus and evacuated the children and driver through the rescue truck. No one was injured.

The children were loaded onto a second bus and taken to their elementary school.

The bus driver, Linda Mae Anderson, told deputies that she saw the tree falling and attempted to move out of the way and stop the bus. The vigilance and swift reaction by Anderson likely prevented a tragedy, according to the sheriff's office.