A year after the blaze that destroyed their home, Roxburgh residents John and Pat Kerr continue to count their blessings rather than their losses, as they tell Lynda Van Kempen.
A team of 60 firefighters and a fleet of seven helicopters fought the blaze and although several homes were threatened, the Kerrs' home was the only one destroyed.
The couple own a backpacker business in the Commercial Hotel in the town and both were out when the fire started, but Mr Kerr went back to check his property when he saw the smoke.
He met Roxburgh policeman Roger Mattson at the scene, who was checking no-one was in the house, and the duo drove through dense smoke to escape the fire.
Within 10 minutes, the Kerrs' home was consumed by the blaze.
They have rebuilt on the same site: the magnificent view over the town, the Clutha River and the valley ''remains the same'', they say.
They celebrated Christmas dinner with family in their new home although it is not quite finished, and hope to shift in later this month.
The Kerrs are philosophical about the devastating fire and say they are counting their blessings rather than their losses.
''It's great to think nobody was hurt or killed, and of the other houses that were in the path of the fire, ours was the only one that went up. It's amazing when you think how much more damage it could have caused,'' Mr Kerr said.
The fire was a reminder how important it was to have insurance, and the Kerrs were thankful their property was fully insured.
They had no qualms about building on the same site, although Mrs Kerr admitted to some nervousness as conditions throughout the district reached the same tinder-dry state they were in this time last year.
''But then the heavy rain earlier this week - the two inches we had - put my mind at rest.''
They had always planned to build a new home on the site, but the fire had hastened those plans by about 10 years.
A stand of scorched pine trees next to their home serves as a stark reminder of the devastation wrought by the fire.
The team of firefighters, helicopter pilots and other volunteers who came to their aid were all heroes, the couple said.
''They saved the town,'' Mrs Kerr said.
''The local firemen had started that day with a 5am call and then got called out again that evening for this fire. They're all volunteers, so were at work during the day as well and then carried on working through the night.''
The outpouring of support from the wider community was another heartwarming aspect in the aftermath of the fire.
''The visitors, the phone calls, the emails and letters; it was just incredible,'' Mrs Kerr said.
One of the special gifts the couple received was from Millers Flat School pupils, who arrived with a shoebox of vegetables from the school garden.
