SEVIER COUNTY, Tenn. — As fires swept across mountains in Sevier County, propelled by strong winds and dry conditions, one woman got a panicked phone call from a friend.
"She was out of town and her place was right down the street from Hatcher Mountain," said Allison Foster, who lives near Sevier County. "She was panicking and she didn't know how close it was."
While crowds evacuated Sevier County and fled from the flames, Foster hitched up her trailer and drove towards them. She said she has been rescuing horses for around a decade and knew some of them needed her help.
"A lot of people don't realize they are a lot like us," said Foster. "They are their own person within themselves."
When she approached the location of her friend's horses, she said the road was blocked. But that didn't stop her, she said. Instead, she hopped out of her truck and ran towards the panicked animals on foot.
"I got out of the truck, ran across the field," she said. "They were running around in circles, they could smell the smoke."
She managed to load them onto the trailer and brought them back to her farm, rescuing them from the flames. But she was not done.
Afterward, she made a post on social media asking if anyone else needed help transporting large animals. Several people took her up on her offer, and she headed back out again.
She said she helped rescue four horses and a miniature donkey, carrying them away from a wildfire that nearly grew 2,500 acres large. The fires are out as of Friday, and the animals have been safely returned to their owners.
Foster said she has also received a lot of praise from the community, commending her for quick thinking and bold actions to rescue helpless animals. But she said she doesn't need the praise.
"It was right to me and I don't mind that," she said.