Amelup farmer Jaxon Peakall identified as 34-year-old man killed by tree while helping fight Mindarabin fire

The 34-year-old man tragically killed while helping fight a raging bushfire in Mindarabin on Tuesday has been identified as Amelup farmer Jaxon Peakall. Mr Peakall was patrolling the boundary of the blaze on Old Ongerup Road as part of a farmer response unit when a burnt tree fell on the cab of his vehicle just after 8pm. He sustained critical injuries and died at the scene. The 34-year-old, who has been described as a “beautiful” person by those who knew him, had recently taken over the family farm in Amelup, south of Borden, from his parents following their retirement to Albany. Though the young farmer’s mixed grain and sheep property was not endangered by the fire, he had volunteered to help with firefighting efforts to help protect the farms of friends and neighbours in the tight-knit community. Mr Peakall attended Borden Primary School and left the Great Southern to travel after high school, before returning to work on the family farm in his 20s. He has been remembered by those who knew him as an “all-round really nice bloke” and “quiet but beautiful”, who got along with everyone and was a great sportsman and passionate about farming. The Mindarabin fire, which was sparked at 12.18pm on Tuesday and triggered three emergency level warnings at its peak, was brought under control and contained by 3.21pm on Wednesday. It has burnt 5542ha of land and had more than 100 firefighters on the ground late on Tuesday in the battle to bring it under control. A bushfire advice alert remains in place for people in the area bounded by Tie Line Road, Chester Pass Road, O’Neill Road, Ongerup Creek, Hart Road, Gnowangerup-Jerramungup Road, Coromup Road and Hinkley Road in Jackitup, Mindarabin and Toompup in the Shire of Gnowangerup on Thursday. Shire of Gnowangerup president Kate O’Keeffe said the council had engaged a counselling service to help anyone struggling in the aftermath of the bushfire. She said while bushfire brigade personnel could access counselling through the Department of Fire and Emergency Services, the council wanted to make sure other people who were suffering emotionally had somewhere to turn. “We want to take care of the family of the victim, the volunteers who were first on the scene, the ambulance crews and the police,” she said. “I think we often think that, for the police especially, it is part of their job, and they are trained for this, but they are human first of all. “We want to make sure all of these people are OK, and they know we are here to help.” She said that while no homes had been lost, significant damage had been done to farm land. “Their homes may have been saved but there is still concern for farmers who have suffered considerable damage to their paddocks,” she said. “They work so hard and the destruction and the degradation to the soil has been so horrendous.” Cr O’Keeffe said clean up and monitoring was still continuing at the fire scene.