'It's nothing short of a miracle': Seeing hope among devastation from the Orroral Valley fire

"It is a bit unfortunate though to see a park burn once in your career but to see it burn twice is a tad disappointing so that's certainly a knot in your stomach," he said.

The Namadgi National Park district manager has worked 14 hour days since last Monday to save the land and its assets from the Orroral Valley fire.

One of those assets was the Orroral Homestead where Mr McNamara was stationed with crews as multiple firefronts encroached on the historic property built circa 1860.

As he stood at the homestead on Sunday, Mr McNamara recounted the moment the fire arrived.

"What happened here is that this was a bit of a hellhole on Tuesday, a fire was roaring down both sides of the valley and it's under that northwesterly," he said.

"We basically just laid line around the Orroral Woolshed and the Orroral Homestead.

"These things are built back in the 1860s and there was no way we were going to lose it in 2020."

Mr McNamara turned to the saviour of such precious assets for hope.

"The beacons of hope that we have are what we have saved. There is a lot that we have lost in terms of the ecological integrity of the park but there are beacons of hope, it's the campgrounds, it's the huts, it's the heritage," he said.

"As a community we need to rally around those beacons of hope as the green shoots of recovery come through and we'll get through this, we'll be fine."

Out at Namadgi National Park the landscape is tinder dry and ideal fuel for fire. Mr McNamara said it was far drier now than it was in 2003.

"The copper look among the landscape, it is beyond being dry, it's extraordinarily dry and that is the big difference between now and 2003," he said.

"Because of what we have done in terms of the tactics and the strategies and the planning we have been able to keep this away from Canberra's doorstep.

"It is an absolute credit to those involved. It's nothing short of a miracle that we have been able to get through all this to date."

On the fireground on Sunday, conditions had eased but fire remained active and spot fires continued to flare.

Smoke plumes billowed out of deep, rugged terrain and crews were on hand both on foot and in the air.

A group of firies were gathered at juncture between Boboyan Road and Orroral Road. They monitored the valley below where there was active fire and smouldering.

Below was a structure in ruins.

The effect of the drought in the area was evident as unburnt trees were the same colour as those untouched by flames.

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Nature had been incinerated along Orroral Road and Mr McNamara remarked "it did not burn like this in 2003".

Pink retardant trails were laid across the fireground, particularly around valuable assets.

At this stage Mr McNamara said it was difficult to determine asset losses.

"As far of total loss yet to be confirmed," he said.