WASHINGTON COUNTY, Tenn. (WJHL) — The Washington County Sheriff’s Office in Tennessee honored law enforcement on Friday for their heroic efforts during the Hurricane Helene floods, especially two officers dispatched to Bumpus Cove.

On the list of those honored was Johnson City Police Officer Sharrell Dykes and Washington County, Tennessee Sheriff’s Office Captain Mike Foster.

Dykes and Foster remembered how they saved other officers who were stranded in Bumpus Cove.

“All the other bridges were blocked, so we had to figure out a way to get back,” Dykes said. “And between the deputy that was with me, Colin, and trying to get through to his dispatch, they contacted Greene County. We figured out a way to get back on the back roads. They ended up on Asheville Highway. We got back across that bridge in front of the dam right before they closed it.”

“It was very frustrating knowing that we had officers who were stranded, who were unable to get back home,” Foster said. “Knowing that we needed those officers to continue working. And if there was no way that we could go pick them up, they would be stranded there with no food, no water, no shelter.”

Dykes said she and Deputy Colin left the sheriff’s office at 4 p.m. to help the officers in Bumpus Cove and did not return home until six hours later.

Dykes and Foster added that the community has played a massive role in recovery efforts since the floods.

“You’ve seen farmers loan tractors and different things helping clear up debris and clean up, you know, the wood, everything that’s in the rooms they were at or doing their own job, too,” she said. “So it was just one big effort on everybody’s part. And it made me feel good about our area. If you go back and look at it, nobody was griping about us complaining. Everybody was helping. And that’s what we need. That’s what everybody needs.”