An affectionate orphaned elk expressed some gratitude to first responders as they battled a hillside fire in Washington July 2.

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"She isn't your typical white elk," Kittitas County Fire District spokeswoman Richelle Risdon told ABC News. "The consensus seems to be she's an orphan. She adopted the cows, horses and goats from a neighboring ranch as her family. She wants nothing to do with elk moving through the area, like she doesn't see herself as an elk."

According to the Kittitas County Fire Department, the firemen and women were responding to a fire and managed to save three homes that day. The elk just happened to wander by and greet the firefighters, getting very close to them.

"She wandered in and made herself at home," Risdon said. "She doesn’t leave you alone either. She’s pretty insistent that she wants to be part of the group.”

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