Two children with asthma who had some breathing difficulty were checked out by ambulance attendants and found to be unharmed.
``The good news is that all students and staff were safely evacuated,'' said Ron Warder, director of instruction for the Sooke school district.
``Everything went smoothly in terms of the evacuation.''
Lisa Bradshaw, whose eight-year-old daughter Zoe attended Happy Valley, said the evacuation was handled well.
Her daughter was frightened but said the fire drills she took part in helped.
``We just had a fire drill a few days ago because it was fire safety week,'' Zoe said. ``We kind of knew what to do.''
Hours after it started the raging fire was being fought by dozens of firefighters from six Victoria-area departments.
Flames shot 15 meters into the sky and a column of heavy black smoke could be seen from downtown Victoria, about 20 kilometers away.
The fire burst through the roof of the structure and one wall of the gym collapsed.
Nearby houses in the quiet residential neighborhood were not threatened by the fire.
School district chairman Jim London put out an appeal to area schools for help with supplies, from erasers to backpacks, because the students left everything behind when they were evacuated.
