TORONTO -- A Canadian who was visiting her brother in an evacuated Australian beach town says they aren鈥檛 sure if the town will still be there when they return.

Marie-Eve LeClerc and five of her family members were among those forced to leave Bermagui in New South Wales earlier this week. In an interview with 麻豆传媒 Channel on Thursday, LeClerc described the ordeal, which began on Dec. 30, when the smoke was already thick in the town. She went to buy surgical masks for protection that day, she recalled, but they didn鈥檛 expect the situation to take a turn for the worse the next morning.

鈥淭he neighbour woke us up knocking on the door saying 鈥楾he fire is coming, you have to get out of the house,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淲e took the kids, mom, my brother and sister-in-law, we packed the car (to) get by the beach.鈥�

The roads around the town were all closed, so many people in Bermagui were forced to remain on the beach. LeClerc and her family stayed overnight. The next day, police gave an evacuation order, telling residents that the conditions would worsen by Saturday.

鈥淚t looked like hell was coming to burn the town,鈥� she said.

The Australian wildfires have so far 5 million hectares, killed at least 17 people and destroyed more than 1,400 homes.

LeClerc and family left Bermagui and began the drive up to Canberra. The capital city is just 300 kilometres from there, which normally would be a three-hour trip. It took them eight hours to get there.

鈥淭he road was bumper to bumper,鈥� she said. 鈥淎nd we were running out of gas.鈥� They stopped at a station along the way and faced long lineups to fuel up. To make more room in their vehicle, LeClerc decided to hitchhike part of the way and joined another pair in their car.

鈥淭he conditions on the road were horrific,鈥� she said. 鈥淲e could see smoke and some places burned down already鈥� You couldn鈥檛 see more than 200 metres in front of you. It was just smoke, and the grass on the ground in some places was already burned.鈥�

Once in Canberra, the group of six were taken in by a 鈥渧ery nice family.鈥� But what lies ahead is uncertain. Extreme weather, including strong winds, are expected in the coming days.

鈥淭here鈥檚 fire all over the place. We have no idea if we will be able to go back to the house and when,鈥� she said.

鈥淭here was no electricity when we left. No power, no communication. No petrol. No WiFi, no cell phone(s), no nothing鈥� Everyone is in a state of emergency. We have no idea if the village will be there.鈥�