More than 24 hours after a ferocious fire bore down on the township of Oaks Estate, in Canberra's east, residents and businesses were still left in the dark.
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The town had no power after the Beard fire got terrifyingly close to an electrical substation in the town.
This week, those in Oaks Estate dealt with two emergency level threats.
The Pialligo Redwood Forest fire which started on Wednesday afternoon escalated rapidly and those in the town were urged to leave.
The fire left as quickly as it came and was downgraded to advice shortly after, with authorities confident they would contain the fire.
But on Thursday a new fire started, which merged with the old one to create the Beard fire which again threatened Oaks Estate. The fire was under control by 4pm Friday.
For Capital Flowers owner Alfred Bonansea the show must go on. He closed the shop on Thursday and sent staff home but he stayed on for one incredibly lucky bride.
"I stayed because a lady was getting married [on Friday] and she couldn't come in," he said.
"If I left I couldn't come back, so I had to make sure everything was done around here and then grab her wedding flowers and go and deliver them."
Mr Bonansea said when the fire started on Wednesday he wasn't that concerned but that quickly changed.
"Basically a customer came in and said 'I think the smoke is coming from the airport' and I didn't think much of it," he said.
"But it slowly progressed more and more and in the afternoon when I left here the fire was just out the back.
"There were helicopters and fire brigades everywhere and I thought they must have had it under control but then bit by bit it was getting worse and worse and SES sent a text to think about evacuating."
After conditions calmed, Mr Bonansea opened the business as usual on Thursday but after the fires merged the property was encircled by fire.
"On Thursday morning the wind started up again and there was a huge amount of wind around here," he said.
"All of a sudden the fire was worse and it was getting closer and than apparently it jumped. It was all over the place."
Around the corner, Kate Gauthier left work on Thursday to defend her home.
"When I drove home from work I saw flames on the other side and then got to the house," she said.
"I just kept everything watered and watered my neighbour's garden and out the back as well because they weren't there."
Ms Gauthier's children were picked up from their holiday care program by her husband and dropped at a relative's house.
All of a sudden the fire was worse and it was getting closer and than apparently it jumped. It was all over the place.
- Capital Flowers owner Alfred Bonansea
The plan was for her husband to come home and defend the property in the evening but the roads into the suburb were blocked.
"I was unable to get out, so he took the kids to safety and I stayed at the house," she said.
They were able to get back at about 9pm Thursday.
Ms Gauthier lamented no buses were used to help residents evacuate.
"Oaks Estate has the highest rate of non-car ownership than anywhere else in the ACT community," she said.
"They were not providing bus services to the community here to get them out.
"They were providing services to run people from Queanbeyan evacuation centre into the Dickson evacuation centre but many of the local people here would have been unable to get into that centre, so they did to some extent leave the community here a little bit high and dry."