The fires are so large and travelling so fast that witnesses have likened the flames to beasts, to roaring freight trains or jets or, as one said, to looking into the mouth of a dragon.

Even if the human toll has not been anywhere near the catastrophes of Black Saturday back in 2009, the losses have been and continue to be extreme; thousands of homes and other buildings destroyed, great swathes of bushland incinerated and staggering numbers of wildlife killed.

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This still-unfolding tragedy continues to hit us very much in the now, but another impact that has a similar ability to unravel lives is sure to play out in a far slower, more insidious way.

For the firefighters, for those who have battled to save their homes and for those who have simply witnessed the onslaught, they will also have to face another enormous challenge - keeping watch on their mental health.

Depression, anxiety and a whole myriad of related symptoms can slowly take root, eating away in our subconscious for many years to come.

No one should feel they have to fight this battle on their own and no one should feel that they cannot support someone they know, or someone they love, if they suspect they might be susceptible to mental health issues as a result of the fires.

It is an experience that Wodonga's Chris Bogusis has lived with for more than a decade, having been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in the wake of surviving Black Saturday at Healesville.

As he says, front-line firefighters will get the initial trauma counselling they need but for many others, they might battle on without even realising they need help.

That can even be from the experience of having to be evacuated, as has happened for thousands of people across the North East.

As Mr Bogusis says: "If the government doesn't set up large-scale community trauma counselling services we're going to see high rates of suicide like we did after Black Saturday."