There's been mixed reactions among Girvan residents today, after a major fire tore though bushland Southeast of Stroud overnight.
RFS crews have been carrying out a fire ground assessment off Booral Road today (Tuesday the 17th of October, 2023), as they work to determine how many homes were damaged or destroyed by the blaze.
The fire has now burned through more than 700 hectares of bushland and was at one stage upgraded to Watch and Act level.
Although it's since been downgraded to Advice level, it's still yet to be extinguished by firefighters.
Local Cheryl Graves, says some residents were given 5 minutes to evacuate their homes last night, as the fire started threatening properties.
She says while her home was able to be saved, others nearby weren't so lucky.
"A lady up the back, we were standing up the road with her yesterday... their house is gone, she's lost her house," she said.
"It's just on the ground; it's burned to the ground."
As crews continue battling the blaze, Mrs. Graves, says her home wouldn't have been saved without the help and dedication of local firefighters.
"When you see the devastation around our house, you just realise how close it was to going into our house; although our house is brick it's just unreal.
You just look out into the yard and think how lucky we are to have a house to sleep in tonight at least," Mrs Graves said.
It's not yet been confirmed how many homes have been lost in the fires.
