BEN KNIGHT, PRESENTER: Fires are still burning all over Tasmania. The other serious blaze is further up the east coast - where about 15 homes and beach houses have also been destroyed.
This is a prime tourist area - and of course it's the middle of the peak season. It's a time when the Tasmanian economy can least afford a disaster like this.
But as the first light hit the smouldering ruins of those houses this morning, it showed just how much worse things could have been if the residents there hadn't run for their lives.
Our reporter Conor Duffy and cameraman Geoff Lye filed this report.
PETER JOHNSTONE, HALF MOON BAY RESIDENT: That's our mate's Jock's house there. So that's gone. Then Kate and Steve up behind there, that house is gone.
CONOR DUFFY, REPORTER: The ocean is the only way for neighbours Peter Johnstone and Bill Hunt to make it back to what remains of their homes.
They set off at first light on a grim tour and a first look at the damage. This area is called Half Moon Bay. It's just south of the east coast town of Bicheno. Peter and Bill reach a friend's home first. What were family refuges in a paradise of beach and sand reduced to ash.
PETER JOHNSTONE: Just shocking. Everybody spent so much time here. And loved the bay. And what do we do now?
CONOR DUFFY: They hunt for mementos for their friends but the reality is there isn't much left to salvage. As Peter Johnstone walks on to his place, there's asphyxiated animals caught out fleeing for the water. Sadly, when he reaches the well-loved home he spent years designing, it's completely ruined.
Would've been your dream place in summer?
PETER JOHNSTONE: Yeah, were here all the time, then we were down here in winter as well. It's just unbelievable.
CONOR DUFFY: Peter Johnstone was lucky to escape the inferno that destroyed his home. Along with his wife and two children, they planned to stay and fight the fire. A last-minute helicopter warning convinced him to pack the car and flee the house.
PETER JOHNSTONE: Landed on beach and came and said, evacuate. Get out. We would've stayed I reckon if that hadn't happened and then given the intensity of what we seen on Saturday, if anybody had stayed here they wouldn't have made it I don't think. There's no chance. I'm just grateful of the Tas Fire Services guy that came in and told to us evacuate. And I said how long have we got? He said five minutes. Because if we couldn't get through the road then we're stuck.
CONOR DUFFY: Peter Johnstone was shocked by what he saw when he returned even though he's no stranger to fires. Surviving Victoria's Black Saturday fires three years ago. The heat here was so intense that picking through the remains there's nothing to be found. Their departure was so rushed, there was no time to take anything with them.
PETER JOHNSTONE: I think my daughter one of my daughters grabbed their Christmas present. That's about it. I went out in my shorts. I didn't even have time to put long trousers on. What did my wife grab? She grabbed a handbag. We had five minutes.
CONOR DUFFY: Bill Hunt's place is also ruined. His home and cherished vegetable garden are a mess of corrugated iron and rubble. Somehow a couple of small items remain. Bill Hunt didn't want to speak about his ordeal on camera, but like Peter Johnstone, he's worried for his neighbours.
PETER JOHNSTONE: I just feel story for those that are less fortunate than us here and haven't got their insurance. They've lost everything. At least we've got other possessions elsewhere. We're not totally lost. For anybody who would like to donate to the Bicheno fire appeal the Bendigo Bank's agreed that they would take donations.
CONOR DUFFY: The fire that caused the damage is no longer threatening homes, but continues to burn out of control. It's a constant battle to keep it away from people with shifting winds a big worry. Helicopters pierce the thick smoke and deliver relief from the air.
This fire front continues to burn out of control. It's hard work for the fire-fighters and they expect it will take another three to five days to bring under control. Here, they're back-burning to try and keep the fire from the road and from the famous tourist town of Coles Bay.
There's always a risk back-burning could go in an unwanted direction. Yesterday, fire-fighters rushed to stop an outbreak that could've started a major plays.
A bit of a win there?
FIREFIGHER: Yeah, that was a real win
CONOR DUFFY: What happened?
FIREFIGHER: Crossed over, over the road, fire on the wrong side of the road. It's just like having a new fire.
CONOR DUFFY: How bad could it have been if you didn't contain it here and stop it so early?
FIREFIGHER: Could every been really bad. It's real bad now but it could've been real worse.
CONOR DUFFY: Back in town, local businesses say the fires are wrecking the busy summer tourism season, the busiest time of the year.
BERTRAND CADART, BICHENO MAYOR: We need absolutely visitors to survive here. Our economy, almost 60 per cent of our economy, our local economy in this municipality rely on visitors and so they're leaving in droves.
CONOR DUFFY: Bicheno's flamboyant French-born mayor, Bertrand Cadart, wants them to come back. He was evacuated himself, but says it's just part of living in the bush.
BERTRAND CADART: I've never been evacuated in my life before. I live - if you look behind me, I live in a bushy area of Bicheno and I have chosen not to clear my property more than I have to. I love to be in a tree environment.
CONOR DUFFY: And even though the fire remains nearby, the mayor says rural spirit is getting everyone through.
BERTRAND CADART: That's the beauty I think of rural life. It's a bit boring to some because you don't have all the razzamatazz of Melbourne, Sydney or Paris, let's say. But you've got real people going shoulder to shoulder when the trouble hit.
CONOR DUFFY: Back at Half Moon Bay those hit hardest count their losses and find only a few items remaining. What once was forest resembles a moonscape and it will be a long time before life returns to normal.
PETER JOHNSTONE: Fire intensities seem to be getting much worse, I don't know. They're getting much worse. I mean, this place is decimated. The whole beach, the whole bay is decimated.
BEN KNIGHT: Conor Duffy.