By Christian Petersen

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FRANK, North Carolina ( WXII ) — An Avery County firefighter shared the story of a dramatic water rescue as Hurricane Helene came barreling through the region.

Captain Kacey Hughes had already pulled a person out of a car stuck in floodwater when the call came in around 8:30 a.m. on Sept. 27. A woman was trapped on a pile of logs surrounded by the overflowing North Toe River.

Hughes and a fellow firefighter had to cut their way to the scene. Trees were falling everywhere and had blocked the road.

When they arrived, there was little Hughes and his partner could do. The river was raging, and the woman was too far away to toss a throw bag or a rope.

Hughes couldn’t communicate with the woman because of the thunderous noise fro

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