Pastoralists in the remote Gascoyne region of Western Australia have spoken of the challenges they faced battling bushfires during heavy rain and thunderstorms.
Wahroonga Station owner Cameron Tubby said he had never experienced anything like it before.
"We were trying to escape a fire and we've got flames on either side, we're driving through water, but we can't see where we're going because of smoke and heavy rain," Mr Tubby said.
It was the second serious bushfire event Wahroonga and Winderie Station owners, Cameron and Teresa Tubby, had experienced in less than two months, after more than 340,000 hectares of pastoral land was razed across the region in January.
The latest blaze, which lasted more than one week, saw about 40,000 hectares of land burnt in the area, including about one quarter of Wahroonga Station.
A 'blessing and a curse'
The Tubbys said the stormy conditions were in some ways helpful, but meant the blaze was unpredictable.
"We had rain on and off for two or three days where it kept dousing the fire, but never actually put it out ... but stopped the run of the fire," Cameron Tubby said.
"Then we had other lightning strikes again during the week that started other fires to the south that eventually joined up ... it had us chasing our tail a bit."
After fighting the January bushfire, which was described as an incredibly hot and fast moving blaze, Mr Tubby said he almost appreciated the stormy conditions this time around.
"As much as we didn't like those storms, it wasn't a screaming sea breeze or a screaming easterly for the whole week, it was just a swirling type thing which made it hard to control but didn't allow it to get that big run on which was a hell of a break for us."
No lives or homes were destroyed in the event, but Teresa Tubby said there were some "very close calls".
"There were vehicles going everywhere because the wind kept changing the fire front and people were getting caught, so it was pretty hairy."
Years of recovery ahead
It is not yet known the extent of livestock losses in the blaze, but Mr Tubby said he was thankful the animals and land which survived were in good condition.
"It's not like we've lost everything," he said.
"The unburnt country is looking really good - there's green grass coming up, the perennials are all greening up, the bush is looking good.
A bushfire advice warning remains in place for another bushfire further north in the Gascoyne, on Doorawarrah and Yalbago Stations.
