As temperatures climbed to 40 degrees and total fire bans remained for the ACT and surrounding area it was timely for a reminder of the danger.

And now tragically we are again dealing with the aftermath of a devastating fire in the region.

We see yet again how quickly one spark can lead to a raging inferno and threaten lives and homes.

The grass fire that started 10 kilometres east of Queanbeyan on Friday afternoon quickly tore through the region towards Captains Flat, razing everything in its path.

There was little warning for residents and many fled for their lives as the flames travelled towards them.

It was heartbreaking to see the images of residents leaving with nothing but their pets under their arms; and again tough to handle were the images of people coming back to their destroyed homes on Saturday.

It is a nightmarish scenario and one that is familiar to many Canberrans who experienced the devastating bushfires of 2003.

And unfortunately the event that residents just over the border have had to deal with over the past 48 hours serves as another tragic reminder of reality when it comes to fires in and around the "bush capital".

That no lives have been lost and firefighters have been able to keep the loss of homes to 11 is remarkable and the Carwoola community is extremely fortunate.

It was also lucky that weather assisted the containment of the fire on Saturday afternoon.

Community spirit remains strong at tough times like these and the outpouring of support from people in the region - including those who went through the fires 14 years ago - was humbling.

It shows that while people can go through some extremely devastating experiences there will always be those willing to help.

And to those who worked tirelessly throughout the night to save the region from even more damage, we say thank you.