A bushfire that was left burning for two weeks, a string of 40-plus degree days and a national highway closed, with livestock transporters and farmers left to place several thousand sheep in a town declared water deficient.
Now those affected are asking, how did this happen? Where was the support? And will emergency compensation be provided?
The questions come after bushfires at Balladonia in February closed for at least 48 hours, the Eyre Highway - which is the main freight route from Western Australia to South Australia.
Salmon Gums farmer Sam Starcevich said the situation could have been avoided if the bushfire had been attended to immediately, instead of being left to burn with a watch and act alert level on it for two weeks.
Ms Starcevich said transporters and farmers were forced to place, feed and water several thousand sheep and cattle.
Many of those were kept in emergency holding yards at Salmon Gums, a town declared water deficient six weeks earlier.
"How did we get to this stage on a number one highway when the fire had been burning for two weeks" Ms Starcevich said.
"The reality is it shouldn't have happened - it should have been put out straight away.
"Instead we had a week of 40 degree Celsius plus days, the fire became out of control, the highway from west to east was shut off and thousands of livestock needed to be placed in emergency holding yards.
"It is a national highway, when will lessons be learned?"
Ms Starcevich, her husband Darren and son Tim spent a day-and-a-half preparing their property to take on 1500 stranded sheep and assisting transporters offload them.
While she was more than happy to help, she was frustrated by the lack of support offered by government agencies.
As the Starcevichs no longer run livestock - and are without the appropriate infrastructure- ramps, yards and fences had to be fixed.
"Not having the infrastructure, we had to move sheep on and off one small trough to make sure they were all getting a drink, and also source feed for them," Ms Starcevich said.
"One local farmer donated 20 bales of oaten hay, which he needs to be compensated for.
"Oaten hay is like liquid gold, you can't get it anywhere, it is priceless."
Given the area's limited access to water, Ms Starcevich contacted the Department of Water and Environmental Regulation on February 21, requesting access to water tanks not be shut off, as farmers were sourcing extra for livestock.
She said the department approved the request.
"We are a water-deficient town," she said.
"If people started taking water from their spray tanks there would have been no other water available, unless it was carted from Esperance.
"For us to get a load of water from Esperance it would cost us over $1500 - we shouldn't have to be out of pocket."
Ms Starcevich said no forethought was given in any of the decision-making processes and felt there was more hindrance than urgency in addressing the problem.
"The Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development (DPIRD) told us that because the animals weren't involved in the fire it was not an animal emergency," she said.
"If you have thousands of sheep or cattle stuck on stationary trucks in 45 degree Celsius heat, there is going to be a stink kicked up about cruelty to animals.
"It is frustrating you know - we would never turn away livestock, it's what we do, we get in and help out where we can.
"But the way this situation was dealt with has left a very sour taste in a few people's mouths.
"I don't know how many fires we need before something changes."
With nine road trains and B-doubles transporting sheep and cattle, Livestock and Rural Transport Association of WA (LRTAWA) president Darran Bairstow said the industry knew it had to act fast.
Mr Bairstow received the first correspondence from DFES, at 1.15pm on February 21, the highway would potentially be closed due to the fire - about an hour later it was.
Most of the trucks travelling to the Eastern States with livestock were in the Esperance district, but a couple that had made it through to Norseman were turned around.
"It all happened pretty quickly," Mr Bairstow said.
"Given there were a large number of livestock moving east, conversations started straight away about what we would do if the highway was shut.
"It was about getting on the front foot and getting things organised as soon as we could.
"That afternoon I think there was maybe only five minutes where I wasn't on the phone."
Trucks were parked up at various locations in Esperance region, with farmers diverting resources to making yards, feed and water available for the livestock.
"The livestock and drivers were very well cared for while they waited the fire out," Mr Bairstow said.
"The Salmon Gums area is deemed water deficient, so it makes the help provided even more significant."
While livestock were the priority, LRTAWA acknowledged the financial costs involved and will seek compensation for those who were left out of pocket for feed, water and time.
Mr Bairstow hoped, given the circumstances, the WA Government would provide emergency compensation regardless of technicalities about whether the animals were in an emergency.
He said hay was in short supply, prices were high and water had to be trucked in.
"There are costs involved with everyone who came on board out of the charity of their heart in trying to do the right thing because it was a welfare issue for the animals," he said.
"We know DPIRD has emergency funds available for fire-affected areas to help with feed and livestock, but were told because the animals were not actually in the fire those funds could not be released.
"We would argue those animals were affected by fire because there was no other option than to get them off the road and into yards where they were watered and fed."
Mr Bairstow also hoped an emergency plan would be put in place, so future responses could be quicker and better organised.
This was the first instance he knew of where emergency holding yards had to be organised for livestock because the Eyre Highway was closed.
"It worked out well in the end," Mr Bairstow said.
"However, I would like to see the department come onboard.
"That way if the button is pressed again and the highway is closed for whatever reason, we have a plan in place for the welfare of the animals."
A DPIRD spokesperson said it was the responsibility of the owner and transporter of livestock to ensure all stock were well cared for during transit and that contingency plans were in place for any potential emergencies.
The spokesperson said this included planning for and monitoring environmental and other circumstances that could impact on the health and welfare of animals, as well as ensuring plans are in place to ensure proper management of animals at all times.
"DPIRD supported the DFES incident response to the Balladonia fires and associated Eyre Highway closure and there was no request to activate the State Support Plan for Animal Welfare in Emergencies, as the service had the matter in hand," they said.
"The State Support Plan is only activated at the request of the incident lead, when existing arrangements are no longer adequate and additional support and/or co-ordination is required.
"The activation of the plan does not automatically release funds."
Mr Bairstow said at no stage did DPIRD mention the support plan, and asked why it was not proactively suggested.
"Drivers are constantly monitoring conditions along the route," he said.
"However, on a journey that is around 3000 kilometres, there will be occasions where unplanned circumstances arise in transit and we look to government agencies for support to ensure animal welfare."
Shire of Dundas president Laurene Bonza said the situation was fraught, as a bushfire starting on Crown land became a local government problem.
The council did not have tenure over crown land in any other circumstances.
"If a fire starts on your property you are in charge of it and are bound to put it out," Ms Bonza said.
"With fires that start in the Shire of Dundas, there isn't a lot of private property.
"If it is on a pastoral lease then the pastoralists have to deal with it, but as far as crown land goes, it becomes a local government problem.
"We don't have any other tenure over crown land, we have no ownership of it, so it only becomes ours if there is a fire on it.
"I think WA is the only State this applies, everywhere else it is the baby of the emergency services department."
Despite having to take control of the incident, Ms Bonza said the Shire did not have capacity to do so because it did not have a rural volunteer firefighter brigade.
This means contractors would be called in, which is at the cost of local government and is unbudgeted.
"We can't budget for it because we don't know how long a fire is going to burn and how many machines will be needed," Ms Bonza said.
"I don't know why we get lumbered with bushfires, local government is not the hazard management agency for any emergency."
The Shire of Dundas covers an area of 93,000 square kilometres between Norseman and the WA-SA border.
Over the past 20 years, Ms Bonza estimated it cost the council and community $150,000 to $300,000 annually to fight fires.
Ms Bonza said section 13 in the Bush Fires Act 1954 handed management of the incident to DFES.
She said in the past five years the approach had been to request a section 13 at the earliest opportunity, so council did not incur the additional costs previously incurred in fighting fires on crown land.
In the Balladonia bushfire, the Shire made a section 13 request from DFES on February 13, but was told to continue monitoring it.
Another Section 13 was requested five days later, before DFES took control of the fire on February 19 and the highway was closed on February 21.
"DFES responded and took control of the fire on February 19 - two days later the highway was closed," Ms Bonza said.
"The delay in response resulted in a big, compounding, resource-hungry exercise, which involved the likes of Main Roads and WA Police.
"We are having ongoing discussions with DFES about this and I think we can probably do it better."
A DFES spokesperson said local governments were responsible for managing fires outside the gazetted fire district until DFES was requested to take over by the controlling agency or the incident is deemed beyond their capacity.
The spokesperson said DFES took control of managing last month's bushfire at the request of the Shire of Dundas - even before pre-agreed triggers between the pair were met.
But Ms Bonza said while the LRTAWA and farmers acted quickly to place the sheep, it shouldn't have reached the stage in the first place.
"That is the main freight route into the State, you would think it would have some priority and be acted on sooner,'' she said.
"There needs to be a bit of a multi-agency look, with the likes of DFES and the Department of Biodiversity, Conservation and Attractions, at how we can make it work better.
"The people on the ground are great to deal with, but the way this whole machine works.. it doesn't work, as far as I'm concerned.
"It is ridiculous that you put everything out to such an extent when it was a tiny 10-hectare fire that ended up being almost 20,000ha."
