This was the reality for Tunnel Hill residents Mary and Barry Mason who were affected by the Gospers Mountain fire just before Christmas.

The couple have lived with their dogs, cat and horse for nine years near the Tunnel Hill rest area at Marrangaroo, down in a gully where the Castlereagh Highway merges with the Great Western Highway.

On Thursday, December 19 the fire started making its way to their 30 acre property.

"We saw it approaching on Thursday night, we saw the flames and called the fire brigade.

"We never went to bed, we were so worried about the embers," Mrs Mason said.

She said her and her husband watched the blaze make its way across the hill behind their property and the RFS advised it would impact within two to three days.

"I had been preparing all week [to evacuate], getting our valuables together, packing essentials and even getting the animals out," she said.

Within those couple of days the fire approached and Mrs Mason called the RFS who were controlling spot fires at the jail.

"They [RFS] could see it too, they asked if I was safe and within 15 minutes the flames were as high as the trees in our yard.

"It was ferocious, the noise and the wind, it was going up like hell.

"The RFS were sending someone out to help us but because we are located down in the gully we're hard to find," Mrs Mason said.

Mr and Mrs Mason have no street name and no house number, they are simply located on the highway.

"The fact no one knew we were even down here.. that's scary.

"What the hell would've happened to us, there's only one way in and one way out,"

"It's concerning in a time of emergency and they can't find us," Mrs Mason said.

Fortunately emergency services arrived and the couple were evacuated from the property.

"We got out of there and thought well.. if they save it, they save it, if not well then..."

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On the Friday Mr and Mrs Mason were at a local cafe and received a phone call informing them their house had burnt down.

"When I got that phone call I felt sick to my stomach, I thought sh-t, I'm homeless," Mrs Mason said.

Refusing to believe devastation, an RFS officer took them down to check on the property.

"It was a false alarm. Our home was still standing, they must have thought it was gone because it's all covered by bush and not visible from the road.

"We were told we could return home at our own risk so we did," Mrs Mason said.

She said she didn't sleep much and on Saturday morning she began to unpack the car for the third time, but it wasn't over yet for the Tunnel Hill residents.

"It was still smouldering at home and I looked over to see the fire had started again," she said.

"Barry and I fought it off with buckets and hoses until the RFS came"

Mrs Mason said it was scary not knowing what she'd come back to.

"I never want to go through that again," she said.

"We didn't know which way it was going to go but we're blessed we lost nothing structural.

"Our property may be burnt but we are the lucky ones, some people lost their homes and that breaks my heart," she said.

Mr and Mrs Mason also wanted to thank the RFS volunteers who helped save their home.

"The firies were amazing, we kept supplying them with cold drinks and my husband gave them $200 to have a few beers on us.

"They were buggered by the end of it but they fought to fight for this damn house," she said.

She said the fire was a nasty one and it wasn't over yet.

"This massive, monstrous fire is affecting everyone and when we do get rain it's going to be like a black river, we'll be forever cleaning up," she said.

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