NSW south coast resident Steve Jory saw a small blaze burning near Tathra on his way to work but by the time he got home it was a raging firestorm ready to claim his house.
The furniture maker's property is one of 70 believed to have been razed by the fire that swept through the seaside town on Sunday afternoon with little warning.
"The kids had gone to the house to pick up whatever sort of mementos they could - they did a fantastic job - but by the time I got home I just had to tell the kids to leave and leave myself," he told AAP on Monday.
"We didn't have much time at all."
Mr Jory and his children, in their 20s, evacuated to the beach with dust masks to protect them from the smoke and sand being kicked up by the strong winds.
With phone lines down and power off, Mr Jory said the worst thing was being unable to contact his wife who was in Merimbula some 20 kilometres further south.
"We couldn't contact her for probably an hour or so, she was a mess," he said.
The family is now together in Bega waiting for the all-clear to return home and survey the damage.
They know their home is gone from pictures on the news and speaking to a neighbour who remained behind and saved his house by knocking down a wall with a sledgehammer to put out flames inside.
But lots of their friends, like them, weren't so lucky.
Mr Jory said he's being pragmatic and knows they'll be able to rebuild.
In the meantime, they've been flooded with offers of places to stay.
"Obviously some people will be struggling but I think everyone has sort of banded together and if we've had so many offers others will have too," he said.
"We did lose a lot of memorabilia and we probably won't' realise what we've lost exactly until quite a bit of time to come, but the main thing is we're all healthy," Mr Jory said.
The NSW Rural Fire Service is assessing damage and ongoing risks but hopes people will be able to return to their homes later on Monday.
Doctors and psychologists in Bega are making themselves available to help fire-affected families. The local showground is being flooded with donations too.
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