She and her family stayed at their Nowa Nowa general store as fire engulfed Victoria's East Gippsland region.

"It was horrific," she told AAP on Wednesday, after fires razed more than half a million hectares.

"It was so much worse than we were expecting.

READ MORE: VICTORIA'S EAST IN CRISIS

"About 11.30 (at night), we went out of the shop and looked towards Mt Nowa Nowa and it was just like a huge walls of flames.

"I saw that and thought 'there is no way our town will survive'."

Miraculously, the small township of just a couple of hundred residents did survive after the fire front changed direction.

But communities across the region have been devastated and four people are missing.

"We were told the day before that it was going to be like Armageddon," Ms Huggins said.

"We didn't believe that."

In the far east of the state at Mallacoota, thousands of people were told to shelter in the water at the beach as fire hit the town.

Steve Jakovljevic, who co-owns the local IGA store, said it was "apocalyptic scenes" and estimated about 50 properties were lost.

"It was New Year's Eve, people were supposed to be happy. And then this happened," Mr Jakovljevic told AAP.

"(The) wind kicked up and there was rolling embers down the main street."

The main part of town survived but not everyone has been so lucky.

"(I) drove past houses where the roof is now on the floor, flattened," Mr Jakovljevic said.

He's kept the shop open to supply firefighters and thousands of stranded residents and tourists.

The fire danger isn't over yet, with four emergency warnings still in place across the region.

The military is being brought in to help evacuate stranded residents.

Milder weather is expected over coming days but residents have been told to remain vigilant, with scorching conditions set to return on Saturday.

-AAP