South coast residents who stayed in Tathra and tried to defend homes from a raging bushfire say it’s a miracle no lives were lost.

100 properties, including 69 homes, were destroyed by the flames which jumped the Bega River and raced towards the seaside town.

David Neyle’s wife and children evacuated their home at Thompson’s Estate, while he and a neighbour stayed behind to save properties…

They also managed to get an elderly man out of a burning home.

David tells Ray Hadley they were incredibly lucky no one was killed.

“It is an absolute miracle that nobody lost a life, in fact, nobody was even in any way seriously injured.

“I only know from our perspective, I think everybody did an amazing job.”

Steve Jory has lived in Tathra for 30 years and tells Alan Jones his newly built home has been reduced to a pile of ash.

“We’ve lost everything… everything’s gone.

“We’re very lucky. We’ve had a huge amount of people reach out.”

Steve says the firefighters on the ground did “all they could” in the horrendous conditions.

Tathra resident Jeff Munz assures Alan the small town is resilient and will rebuild.

Click PLAY below to hear from Tathra residents Steve Jory, Jeff Munz and Terry Dixon

Ingrid Mitchell, her partner and her two young sons have lost their home along with all their belongings.

She tells Chris Smith the fire has melted everything in site.

“It’s devastating but we’re together and we’re strong. We’ve had the most incredible amount of community support,” she says.

“It’s tough seeing this but everyone’s kindness breaks you up.”

Click PLAY below to hear Ingrid’s story

Image: David Neyle

Image: David Neyle

Image: David Neyle

Image: David Neyle

Ingrid and her partner Deborah returned to their home to find nothing but rubble.