Intense bushfires have destroyed up to nine structures, including homes, in the southeast Australian state of Victoria over the weekend.
A number of communities remained under threat on Monday, with authorities warning residents to take shelter if they have not yet evacuated.
"This is a challenging time and it's going to be a very busy time for firefighters and emergency services across the state," Victorian Emergency Management Commissioner Andrew Crisp said.
Dozens of suburbs spent the day nervously listening for updates informing whether fires would spread their way - while others stood in the devastating wake of the firefront.
Winery operator Andrew Clarke watched his home and entire operation consumed after being forced to flee a ferocious blaze which swept across his property on Sunday.
"It is my life's work and we have lost our cellar door which we built over many years," Clarke told local media.
"I don't have any way of earning any money, I don't know what to do, I have got to support my family, so I'm stuffed pretty much."
Another victim of the fires who went by her first name, Karen, told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) that she was happy to have made it out safely and is trying to stay positive.
"We've got some beautiful friends and I know we've lost everything but we haven't lost everything, if you know what I mean," she told ABC radio.
Not so lucky were the multitudes of wildlife which unfortunately did not get the evacuation message.
"All that wildlife, that's all dead," she said, "all those echidnas, all those kangaroos, all those deer, all those koalas, all those goannas that we look at all the time."
