Several properties are thought to have been lost after eight dangerous fires burned between Nowra and the Victorian border on New Year’s Eve.

The NSW Rural Fire Service has confirmed two people have died at Cobargo, and one elderly man is missing at Belowra.

South coast resident Henry Loth tells Luke Grant he’s currently sheltering at the Bermagui Country Club after being evacuated alongside many other locals.

“Some of the locals that live west of Cobargo said it was just like a firestorm. They were racing to get to Bermagui because that’s where they were told to go, and the fire was beating them there.

“Plenty of people I’ve spoken to today, their properties are gone and they’ve basically got a car and their dogs, that’s it.”

He says his father has tragically lost his business.

“He has a pottery business in town and it’s a 130-year-old building and it’s burnt to the ground. It’s just ashes.

“It’s a lot of memories for him because he lost his wife six years ago as well. They had the business for a long period of time, so it’s very, very tough on him now.”

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Image: Getty/Saeed Khan