Lives lost, houses destroyed, coastal communities forced to run into the ocean and millions of Australia's native wildlife killed.
For Australians directly impacted by the fires, the annual "Happy New Year" greeting must surely sound particularly hollow.
Among those left trying to work out a way forward is Andrew Brown of Clifton Creek near Bairnsdale in Victoria.
He built his home by hand 40 years ago and now it's a charred shell.
He told SBS News there's a possibility he'll rebuild.
He found it hard to describe how it felt when he first saw what was left of his home.
“I don't know, I don't know. I wouldn't like to describe it. I didn't feel horrified, I didn't feel unusually sad or anything like that, it's just what do you do, you've got to think about going forward rather than going backwards,” Mr Brown said.
As the fires continue to raze thousands of hectares, those managing the emergency say it could be many weeks before the threat is over.
That's how Victoria's Premier Daniel Andrews views the challenges posed by the fires in East Gippsland.
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