The Northam track worker who was struck by lightning at the Northam Race Club last Thursday, has died in hospital, surrounded by his family.
Racing and Wagering WA chief executive officer Richard Burt confirmed Doug Fernihough passed away on Wednesday afternoon.
“On behalf of the Northam Race Club, RWWA and the broader WA racing fraternity I wish to extend our thoughts and heartfelt condolences to Doug’s family and friends,” Mr Burt said.
“Doug was a respected member of the WA racing community and his passing will be felt by many within the industry..”
The casual race club employee, 57, was flown to Perth for treatment in the Royal Perth Hospital intensive care unit on Thursday.
There was confusion at the time of the incident, due to conflicting reports from the WA Country Health Service and Racing and Wagering WA (RWWA) officials.
WA Country Health Service confirmed the man had been struck by lightning and was in a critical condition, although RWWA chief executive officer Richard Burt stated Mr Fernihough had suffered a "heart attack".
A family representative has since confirmed Mr Fernihough had a heart attack due to the strike.
"As a consequence of being struck by lightning, he has suffered a heart attack and some internal injuries," they said.
The Bureau of Meteorology has also revealed it did not issue a warning for a severe thunderstorm, as duty forecaster Darryl Vink said there had been no evidence of severe thunderstorm activity in Northam to warrant a potential warning on Thursday afternoon.
"It was nothing out of the ordinary," he said. "There was not a lot of rainfall around Northam yesterday.
"There was between 1mm and 15mm recorded, depending on where you were.
"We had not put a warning out in Northam (last week) because there was no evidence of severe thunderstorms."
Race caller Darren McAullay told Radio 6PR's Oliver Peterson that the storm had "come from nowhere".
However Mr Vink said the strongest wind gusts recorded in Northam were at 4.45pm on Thursday afternoon, travelling at 76km/h.
He said a thunderstorm would be classed as severe if it had elements of flash flooding, heavy rainfall, large hail or wind gusts of 90km/h or more.
Mr Vink said thunderstorms were not uncommon this time of year.
"Spring is inherently an unstable time of year," he said.
Northam Race Club president Kevin Christianson has also revealed Mr Fernihough had been working close to two other trackworkers at the time of the lightning strike.
Mr Christianson also said at the time of the accident, it was unclear what had happened.
"You hear a clap of thunder and you assume that is a possibility," he said.
Mr Fernihough had been walking around the track and filling holes at the time of the lightning strike and had been holding a bucket of sand at the time.
A WorkSafe WA spokesperson said there is an investigation currently ongoing.
The spokesperson said they do not comment on current investigations but said they usually take a couple of months to finalise.
The clerk of the course on the day, Sharon Adjuk, said the Northam Race Club is very strict when following weather procedures.
“The first bit of lightening hit the poor man,” she said.
“You can't blame the Northam Race Club – it was a freak thing.”
Northam Shire president Chris Antonio said the tragic event will have an effect on the Northam community, but at this stage, to what level, is unknown.
“At the moment all our thoughts are with the family and the gentleman who has been injured,” he said.
It is unknown when Northam Race Club will reopen.
