Damage assessment teams are beginning the lengthy task of counting up the losses, with at least 16 homes and up to 90 outbuildings lost to bushfires on the NSW South Coast, and three residences to the North Black Range blaze near Braidwood.
Meanwhile, the smoke haze which rolled back into Canberra on Tuesday evening and lingered throughout Wednesday has resulted in more people presenting to their local GPs with wheezing, shortness of breath and other breathing-related issues.
ACT AMA president Dr Antonio Di Dio said that he and his colleagues had seen patient numbers rise as a result of the smoke from the North Black Range fire returning.
At a packed public meeting in Ulladulla on Wednesday, Currowan fire incident controller Superintendent Mark Williams said he expected the losses to increase as crews assessed more South Coast areas.
"We've got five building impact assessment teams out there . . . those teams are continuing to move throughout the fire ground as these roads open up," Superintendent Williams said.
"Currently we're looking at 16 [properties lost], I do expect that to continue to increase but we are about 60 per cent of the way through that."
The homes lost include primary residences, abandoned buildings on farms and lived-in caravans.
Firefighters on the South Coast had taken advantage of favourable weather conditions to strengthen containment lines up to 30 kilometres to the north of the firefront.
The North Black Range fire had exacted less of a toll on property than on the South Coast, and Lake George Rural Fire Service officer Darren Marks said he would be sending teams in for a formal assessment within the next 24-48 hours.
"I know our fire crews intervened to save dozens of houses around Fox's Elbow and Manar because the fire burnt through a lot of that area," Mr Marks said.
"Generally speaking, we're very pleased with the progress made in containing it [the fire] and we hope to have it well-controlled within 24-26 hours, provided nothing untoward happens."
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He said that some Rural Fire Service crews would begin to be stood down or redeployed to the South Coast.
Meanwhile, the smoke drift from the fire ground near Braidwood, pushed by a southerly breeze, has created some health concerns mostly among those people who have pre-existing conditions such as asthma.
Dr Di Dio said that people who have mild or irregular asthma may experience symptoms returning because of the smoke haze and reach for their medication, only to find it out of date.
"It's important to keep that medication up to date given that we may experience more of these smoke haze events into the future," he said.
For motorists travelling to the South Coast, the Kings Highway remains closed to all but local residents between Braidwood and Nelligen, and the Araluen Rd between Araluen and Moruya.
