Whether you call it a miracle or just good luck - the tale of the donkeys who beat the blaze in Bundanoon has lifted spirits.
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Wendy Brown evacuated her property on Saturday, leaving her two miniature donkeys behind.
While she had relocated her pony to a friends place, the donkeys - named Hamish and Neville - refused to move.
Wendy said there was a reason donkeys were famously stubborn.
"A 100kg donkey becomes a 500kg donkey when you try to move them," she said.
With a heavy heart Wendy left the animals in their paddock, packed up her valuables and sought safety.
Wendy followed the progress of the fire as her daughter listened to the scanner. They heard houses had been lost and the fire had reached the street behind her house in Bundanoon.
"I thought the donkeys would not survive," she said.
The next morning the animal lover received a miraculous photo from a neighbour: Hamish and Neville had beaten the odds.
Thirsty but unharmed, the duo emerged from the smoke in search of water.
Wendy said the donkeys "certainly had a higher being watching over them that night".
"I call them my miracle donkeys," she said. "Both sides of the paddock were burnt. Homes were lost but these two lives were saved."
Wendy, who admits to being in her 60s, said she felt like she was 20 years older after the ordeal.
"It has been a horrendous week. I shared the story because I wanted people to have a little bit of hope."
Hamish and Neville have now been relocated and are safe.
"What they went through no one will know," Wendy said.