There was an eerie sense of calm in Kambah and surrounding suburbs where the memories of 2003 mean residents are more likely than most to be prepared for a bushfire.
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While the billowing smoke was visible throughout the suburb, a warning the fire was just kilometres away, there was no panic.
The ACT State Emergency Service on Friday planned to knock on 700 doors in the area telling people to stay put but have a plan.
Neighbours Chris Butler and Andrew Taylor did not live in Lyall Crescent, Kambah, when the devastating 2003 fires burnt 14 nearby homes to the ground.
But reminders of the fire - from charred trees to destroyed fences - were still around when they moved in years later.
They said the street's history meant residents were more likely to be prepared and fire ready.
Mr Butler and Mr Taylor spent Friday afternoon helping make sure each other's homes were as prepared as possible.
They cleaned out the gutters, hosed down their roofs and tried to eliminate anything that could fuel spot fires caused by flying embers.
They also started packing up for themselves and children in the event they needed to evacuate.
"When we moved it was the [bush setting] that attracted us to the place, but that brings with it the dangers," Mr Butler said.
"We know this street lost houses in the bushfires and our house had a burnt tree.
"That prompted us within weeks of moving in to think about that plan."
As the smoke billowed within sight of Cathy Bearnley's home on Ivo Whitton Circuit, she sprayed the dry bark chip next to her drive and her husband loaded all the dry foliage on to a truck to get it out of the area.
“I am getting my bark chip as wet as I can get it," she said.
"My bath tub has water in it. The towels are wet in it.
“We’ve got a plan to get our cage birds and dogs away. We are not worrying about photo albums because the pictures are digital as well.
“I’ve raked all the bark chip away from the fencing. We’ve got a trailer of dry stuff which we are going to take away.
"If the fire lands on this bark chip, away it goes."
At a complex of schools and paddocks on Kambah Pool Road, disabled children were evacuated and an attempt was made to remove 36 horses.
"We've taken the precaution of getting everyone off the property", Terry McNally, chairman of the Youth Haven project, said.
Most of the animals were also evacuated but two refused to get into trucks so were left in paddocks with minimal fuel for any fire.
Horse owner Liza Alder said her horse, Annie, would remain but she moved her to a back paddock, which had less fuel for any fire.
As James Robertson sprayed the lawn at his home on Mount Vernon Drive, he remembered 2003.
"For days the ashes had been flying over," he said of the fires.
"Suddenly, the hills were just black with a red glow.
“We just dashed back here and we just packed all we could into vehicles. The dogs, the cats. I filled up the gutters with water, trying to protect the place against embers.
“Flames were shooting across the road, kangaroos jumping. It’s not a day I’ll forget.
"He didn't think the current fire matched the run up to the disaster of 15 years ago - but he was taking no chances."
