Our live and need-to-know fire coverage is free, to support local journalism and local news please subscribe here.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
Julie Hilditch and Steve Daley know they may have to make a tough call on Saturday if fire bears down on their Tapitallee home.
"Our plan is to stay and defend, unless it's completely catastrophic," Ms Hilditch said.
"So we're going to wait and see what the wind does tomorrow.
"We the feel the place is defendable. It's a mud brick place, so it's not combustible."
"We're prepared, but we're prepared to go as well," Mr Daley, a former Rural Fire Service volunteer said.
The couple have lived at the ten-acre property, located about 10km west of the Shoalhaven River, for nearly 40 years.
"I'm anxious - I haven't seen it like this before," Ms Hilditch said.
"It's drier than we've ever seen it. I haven't felt this level of threat before."
Many of their neighbours had already evacuated, but the couple were busy on Friday, getting ready to defend their Ironbark Road home ahead of Saturday's dire fire conditions.
This included clearing all the debris, taking everything off the verandahs, and putting in sprinkler systems on each side of the house.
They also have a water pump for their dam in the likelihood they lose electricity.
However, they have plans in place if things go awry, having packed the car just in case.
"We can only prepare for the worst and hope for the best," Ms Hilditch said.
"Even though we built the house, our lives aren't worth our house."
Stephen Connolly has lived at his home next to the Tapitallee Nature Reserve for about 25 years, and spent Friday preparing his property.
"I'm going to stay, because the fire people reckon they'd be around. I'll stay until they get too scared and [then] go," Mr Connolly said with a weary chuckle.
"I've got all the yard as clean as I can get it, the gutters are all done. I've got hoses everywhere, a generator and a pool pump to pump the water out of the pool if need be.
"I'm a bit nervous. I don't want to lose the house, because I built it myself.
"If it comes roaring up the gorge, I'm out of here."
Down the road, Susan Courtney, a volunteer with the Cambewarra RFS said she wasn't entirely sure what to expect on the weekend.
Her 13-acre property borders national park.
"Anything could happen - it's supposed to be 46 degrees," she said.
"That fire might be 9km out, but there could be lots of spot fires that start from that under the nor'wester. Hopefully if it is north-west, it will actually push it back across the face of itself.
"I know it sounds terrible, but I almost just want to get it over and done with... Just been waiting for such a long time, training and prepping.
"We're as prepped as we can be, but we've got an old house and we're realistic, and it's not ember-proof."
Meanwhile, on Friday, Illaroo resident Carolyn Lette was getting ready to take her children to Sydney, while her husband planned to stay and defend the property.
"I'm a pretty calm person," Mrs Lette said.
"If we lose our place, that's fine, as long as we're all safe.
"If the winds come tomorrow, the place will go... My husband has pumps and generators, and a bunker as a last resort."
Mrs Lette said she had "never seen anything like it, how dry it is".
"The trees are dying, it's just such fuel for the fire," she said.