Mr Pearson said it was possible searches of large guest houses in the town may yield more bodies.

He praised the work of the police forensic teams who had looked "dejected" as they carried out their grim duties.

Marysville residents who have sought refuge in Alexandra have been told it could be up to a month before they can return.

Allawah Country Cottages owner Jenny Pullen, who lost her bed and breakfast business and home, said about 100 residents sheltered at the town's Gallipoli Park oval when the fire front hit.

Elderly residents were evacuated to the now-destroyed Cumberland spa resort where so far one person, 73-year-old Marie Walsh, has been confirmed to have died.

Mrs Pullen took her 81-year-old mother to Alexandra before she and her husband Graeme - both experienced firefighters - tried to return to Marysville to protect their property.

"At the last roadblock we spoke to our local policeman and he said `I can't stop you going in but you have a 50 per cent chance of coming out alive'," she said.

"We still kept going until we saw the red ball coming towards us. Then we turned around and thought `our lives are worth far more than this'."

Mr Pearson sent his wife, mother-in-law and dog to safety but stayed to protect their property, the Delderfield Bed and Breakfast, which included their home and two bed and breakfast suites on the corner of Darwin Street and Racecourse Road.

"I was doing all the stuff the CFA boys tell you to do. And then something dropped an atomic bomb," he said.

Mr Pearson was putting out spot fires with a mop head when the sky went black and a "dirty big gum" tree crashed down, injuring his hand.

"I didn't know what hit me because I didn't hear it, there was a 727 busy landing on top of me," he said.

"I got back inside because I knew that was the fire front coming. The noise is just absolutely horrendous, you cannot believe how loud this forefront of wind is, it's just like a 727 landing in your living room.

"It's dark and then it all started to go light because it's just burning orange. It's just bright orange lights everywhere."

For 45 minutes flames as high as he could see surrounded Mr Pearson's home.

Exploding gas bottles sent orange plumes into the sky and shook the ground while Mr Pearson, powered by adrenaline, worked to stay alive without power or water.

"It was just appalling mayhem. Everything was burning all around me. I thought I was stupid to have even stayed but I thought 'I worked hard to build this home and property, I'm going to work hard to keep it'," he said.

"Now I'm thinking, `I don't know, I don't know if that was wise' but I'm here, I'm alive."

Once the fire front passed, Mr Pearson began patrolling outside his home. There was nothing left to burn. All that remained were piles of ash and twisted metal yet his home's timber decks and gutters were not even scorched.

"Whether it was just the aerodynamics or sheer, plain, unadulterated bloody luck, I can't explain why we're still standing and every house for 25 houses in view, well Marysville's gone, it's like film of Hiroshima," he said.

Another couple, Max and Val Cockerell, also managed to save their home and remain in Marysville. Together Mr Cockerell and Mr Pearson surveyed what was left of their hometown on Sunday.

"It's just absolutely, unbelievably spooky and scary because there's nothing left. It's just deathly silent and it's still smoking and there's tree stumps glowing," he said.

"I understand there's five buildings left standing. The rest is just gone and it wasn't until I went out with Max that I saw, I don't want to go there, it's a war zone, awful."

For two days, Mr Pearson's wife, Jaqui, didn't know if he was alive and dead and on Tuesday the couple reunited and "had a hug that lasted a couple of hours".

He said people's generosity and kindness had been overwhelming and encouraged anyone who wanted to help to donate money. He is still listening to the 455 voice messages that have been left on his mobile phone.

Mrs Pullen's son and daughter also lost their homes and her and eight family members have been taken in by friends, Allan and Wendy Williams, at Alexandra who moved into a caravan to give them space.

Mrs Pullen said she had been told Marysville, which she described as "God's own garden", remained a crime scene with too many bodies for residents to return.

The oak trees that lined the once-pretty town remain as do the wooden tourist signs, but Mrs Pullen said they now point to nothing.

Marysville residents staying in Alexandra meet once a day and share knowledge of who has survived and who has died.

"We've got so many close friends that we're never going to see again," Mrs Pullen said.

"The death toll is just horrific. I knew a fire would come to Marysville some time but never, ever did I think there would be the mass destruction that's there. There's no Marysville."