Cal Fire currently has over 60 planes and helicopters within its firefighting fleet — and aircraft from its fleet have been heavily involved in the ongoing effort to combat the flames from above.

The Cal Fire aircraft initiated runs on the brusher that slowed its advance as of 4:30 p.m. Northbound traffic on Route 243 was not impacted. No homes or other structures were immediately threatened.

Training in advance was prescient for helicopter crews who battled the recent Los Angeles wildfires, which devastated the region during what typically is the offseason for California forest fires.

A brush fire that erupted Friday on a boulder-laden hillside near Lake Mathews scorched roughly two acres before Cal Fire aircraft stopped it. The non-injury “Rocky Fire” was reported at 3:08 p.m. in ...