Family watches Boddington heritage property burn in Christmas Day fire
Two heritage homes and thousands of hectares of land were lost in a Christmas Day bushfire in Boddington.
Ray Farmer points at two cast iron bed frames, nestled in the smouldering ruins of the home he raised his children in.
"Those were the boys' beds, from when they were little," Mr Farmer said.
His two family-built heritage cottages were destroyed after a bushfire tore through his property in Boddington, 150 kilometres south of Perth, on Christmas Day.
One of the houses the Farmers lost was built in 1972. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
The fire came within 2 kilometres of the Boddington townsite after burning for more than 10 days.
It escalated to an emergency level warning on Christmas Day and more than 80 residents were forced into an evacuation centre, while some slept on air mattresses in the car park.
More than 4,000 hectares of land was razed, while power and water infrastructure were damaged.
Ray and Brenda Farmer are fourth-generation Boddington farmers. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
Sentimental losses
Mr Farmer lost 600 hectares of pasture, 600 kilometres of fencing, the majority of his hay crop, as well as the two cottages.
Both cottages were built by his great-grandfather, and filled with antique furniture and collectors' items.
Mr Farmer said insurance would cover a portion of fencing damage, but the impact exceeded financial confines.
The cottages were filled with family heirlooms. (ABC Great Southern: Andrew Chounding)
"I can't put a dollar figure on it, it's all sentimental … it'll take us years to recover,"
he said.
"I always reckoned if we ever had a fire around the historic houses, I'd be able to save it.
"But this time the wind was too strong, and I had no chance of fighting it."