A terrible wildfire swept through the forests of Tennessee, where Rob Holmes and his family live. The family had been trapped in their home as flames surrounded them, when it suddenly became apparent that they had to get out quickly.

Rob Holmes said:

Hell broke loose. Trees broke down and power lines hung over our path. We couldn’t get the cars out and the smoke was so bad that our 18 month old Wyatt was having trouble breathing.

The family then fled, along with four dogs and a cat, to a neighbor’s house and then to a hotel where they could be safe. But Rob’s daughter Andrea cried all night because there was an animal that they could not bring with them, Charle their pet, the pig.

The next day, a neighbor called Rob and broke the bad news that the house was completely burned to the ground. But there was good news: Charles, the pig was alive.

The family reached the land where their home once was devastated by forest fire and found Charles who had “buried himself” in the ground.

His home was consumed by a forest fire and the pig survived

When I arrived… I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. Charles had dug through the mud to survive. The lord allowed us to keep Charles. How else could it have survived 800 degree temperatures. The tires on the car melted.

Charles was a bit burned and had burns on his hooves. He was also very dehydrated and was not receiving food. So they applied fluids to him and his family gathered around him to make him feel safe.

Since the animal was still in pain from inhaling a lot of smoke, it was taken to the  University of Tennessee Veterinary Hospital  where it could receive the care it needed while it recovered.

Charles is exceptionally well. He got up to greet us and he looks great. He still doesn’t want to get up much due to the burns on his hooves. But his spirit is back.

“We have lost everything material, but we have what was most important, our lives.”