A West Australian farmer whose property and crops were completely destroyed by the Esperance fires has described how close he and his wife came to being caught in the inferno that claimed four lives.
Warren Liebeck described his Scaddan property as "a pile of rubble" while his crop - the best he had seen in half a century - has been completely obliterated.
Mr Liebeck said he and his wife Donna were unaware of the speed at which the fire was approaching the farm until their son arrived on Tuesday afternoon, minutes ahead of the blaze.
The family and their dog evacuated the property 20 minutes before the fire engulfed it, but their tabby cat couldn't be found before they fled and its whereabouts is unknown.
"The power went off around quarter past four and the mobile coverage was buggered, so our son Michael couldn't get hold of us, so he came past at around quarter to five and told us to get out, and 20 minutes later the house was gone," Mr Liebeck told AAP.
"Once we got down the road, you could see it properly, and it was big. Huge black smoke."
The 77-year-old said he had been shocked to return to what was left of his property after the fire passed through, but still managed to maintain a positive outlook.
"I went back there twice to look around, I just saw a pile of rubble where the house was, covered in burnt sheets of tin," he said.
"Well yeah, its a bit hard to take but we're pretty strong people, we can handle it."
Mr Liebeck said his crop was due to be harvested this week and estimated the loss at around $1 million.
"Most of the crop was up to the rear vision mirrors of your ute.
"The best crop we've ever grown in 51 years and it's all just burnt to the ground now - black."
Mr Liebeck said he was relieved his family were safe, but was devastated by the loss of friend and fellow farmer Kym "Freddy" Curnow, who was killed while trying to warn others of the fire.
"They were real good family friends. Everyone around here is devastated.
"Freddy was a good bloke, he'd do anything to help you out - just a good generous bloke."
Speaking from a town house he and his wife have now rented in Esperance, Mr Liebeck said he had already been contacted by his insurance company, and would now begin the process of rebuilding.
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