But it hasn't all been darkness.

For a group of four women affected by the November fires, the piercing light of human kindness and community spirit will leave the strongest impression in their mind's eye.

"So many people keep coming out of the woodwork and saying 'I'm here, how can I help?" Janet Donnelly said.

Janet lost her house along South Arm. Her family has been living without power in a caravan on their property since November.

But while everyone else who evacuated on November 8 was suffering through an evening of uncertainty - not knowing whether houses or significant others had survived - Janet at least had a definitive answer. For that, she counts herself lucky.

"There's not a single person along this road who has not been affected by this fire, whether they lost their house or not. It's the mental trauma that's been the worst," she said.

It would be untruthful to suggest Janet and her family are not still suffering.

"There are good days and there are bad. It's definitely darker now after the fires," she said.

What's been particularly hard for her and neighbour Kara Welch to witness is just how much everything has affected their kids.

"Our kids are bush kids - nothing much scares them," Kara said.

"But now they're scared of storms. It was a massive storm that started the fires - the kids all know it. And every afternoon there's mist here, and when they see it they all gasp, thinking it's smoke.

"We didn't lose our house, but we lost our sense of safety and security."

The feeling of 'survivor's guilt' is something that Robyn Wilson and Anama Tesser are grappling with.

While their houses remain in tact, they are still processing the emotions of having to leave their husbands behind to battle the flames, not knowing when or if they would see them again.

Some neighbours, and long-time friends, are no longer there to call upon for tea and sympathy - a few still too scared to come home.

"There's a real sense of loss when your mates aren't there anymore," Anama said.

That means there's one less child on the school bus run, one less person to have a beer with up at a hall function.

Still, while the route to recovery is as bumpy as the gravel road to the top end of South Arm, there's much to be grateful for, say all four.

Robyn is impressed by the proactivity of the Nambucca Valley Council, she said she has heard from friends down south that a few councils down there are making things harder for some.

"I'm very appreciative of the Nambucca Council's efforts. Having the water there for free, and waiving fees at the tip was great for a lot of people.

"And I'm thankful they had the foresight to employ a Bushfire Recovery Coordinator."

Janet, too, is grateful for that.

"She's been so gentle with me, and sat down and explained to me all the assistance grants I'm eligible for," she said.

And while numbers have dwindled slightly, there's a more solid sense of community than before.

Not one to dwell on the negatives when there are things that can be done, Kara reacted to the devastation around her by collecting and delivering supplies to anyone she could.

Her house looked like a storage warehouse for a couple of months, and she had to break through a lot of emotional barriers people had put up around them, but she has no regrets about doing it.

"People pull in to have a conversation now - there's a lot of funny stories, love and support," she said.

Neighbours who would see each other only in passing are now taking the time to check in with each other; this shared tragic experience has become like a glue to bond the community together.

"While this fire has brought out the worst in a few people, it's definitely brought out the best in so many more," Robyn said.

For Kara, the donations she received in the initial aftermath were a testament to the good in the world.

"Hope For the Homeless from Coffs Harbour were incredible - on the day of the fire we were joking about what we were wearing being our 'end of days' clothing. Noone really had time to gather what they needed. Two days after the fire we had an entire driveway full of donated clothing, and suitcases to put it all in, to deliver to people who had to leave with nothing," she said.

"And they kept checking back in to see what we needed - tents, tools, clothing, food - my whole verandah was filled with anything you could think of."

The Anglican Parish's Tony Fuller was a godsend, Kara said, as was Adam Wake who made post rammers for fencing. Kara is also grateful for the help from individuals like Laura Graham, Jason Donovan and Alissa Hastings, who did whatever was asked of them, and more.

And Kara said the efforts put in by the Nambucca and Macksville RSL Clubs were phenomenal.

She said there are countless others who stepped up when they were needed, and to whom she'll always be grateful. This is the memory she's deciding to keep from this experience.

And Janet feels indebted to the dedicated firies and pilots who stayed until the very last possible minute: "While the devastation has been huge, it could have been so much worse if it wasn't for them".

Nearly four months on from the fires, things are gradually starting to shift, and fluorescent green growth is sprouting in abundance.

Robyn hopes as the scars fade, that lessons learnt will not also pale, and that more resources will be made available for our firefighters in future.

There will undoubtedly still be trying times ahead ... but there's a group of strong women in South Arm that are ready for those challenges, because they know now they have each other.

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