Conjola is one of the communities worst-hit by the bushfires ravaging Australian with people returning to find little more than charred ruins where their homes once stood.
The small town is on the south coast of New South Wales, between Nowra and Bateman's Bay.
It has fewer than 500 permanent residents but despite the devastation, they're vowing to rebuild.
"I've never, ever, lived through anything like that. Ever," an emotional Michael Fletcher said.
"All you could do is put your life at risk. There's no need to. Just go, just get out and go.
"When you see that fire and… you're not meant to be there, just go."
One resident refused to leave. Three people went to help bring her out, but she wouldn't go.
She's now feared dead.
Residents of the holiday town have now returned to find rubble and ruin, many homes destroyed, but they're hopeful for the future.
"We've just got to pick up the pieces now and move on," resident Helen Dwyer said.
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