Properties have been lost, firefighters injured and more land blackened after a night of horrific conditions across the Kangaroo Island bushfires.
Assessments are underway, but some homes are believed lost at Vivonne Bay while the town of Parndana was spared, despite fire bearing down on it from several directions.
Two Country Fire Service trucks were involved in burn-overs and two more CFS personnel were injured, taking the total hurt on Kangaroo Island to 22.
With rain falling across the fire ground on Friday, the warning levels for all fires were reduced to a watch and act.
CFS chief officer Mark Jones said Thursday night was an "incredibly difficult" period for all 280 firefighters on the island.
"Winds were not consistent, they were blustery and came from many different directions," he said.
Fires were spotting during the night which allowed them to jump containment lines and in that situation Mr Jones said the number of firefighters on the ground almost became irrelevant.
"There's no way to stop those fires from spreading," he said.
Police went door-to-door to urge people to evacuate Vivonne Bay on Kangaroo Island on Wednesday. Source: AAP
On Friday morning the town of Emu Bay also came under threat, with residents moved to the nearby beach but the CFS said the situation had also eased.
So far more than 170,000 hectares of scrub has been burnt, including most of the famed Flinders Chase National Park, along with dozens of homes and hundreds of other buildings.
In response to the situation, the ferry service from the SA mainland was asked to restrict travel to freight, local residents and emergency service personnel but that decision was expected to be reviewed later on Friday.
The overnight escalation in fire activity cut power to more properties with about 850 now without electricity.
SA Power Networks said its crews had been relocated to Penneshaw for safety reasons and would wait for CFS clearance before re-entering the fire zone.
Smoke from the fires also affected a large swathe of South Australia, with air quality in a number of areas listed as very poor.
The Kangaroo Island blaze first broke out on 20 December from a lightning strike but escalated rapidly last Friday before jumping containment lines again on Thursday.
It claimed two lives last week with outback pilot Dick Lang and his son Clayton killed as they returned to the family property.
Authorities said there were no further reports of missing people.
"I'm also scared for the town."
Other residents who left Parndana placed sprinklers on the roofs of their homes, hoping they would prevent them burning down.
Army personnel had gone from door to door, urging people to leave.
At the peak of the emergency last week, Parndana also came under threat with locals saying the glow in the sky was "just incredible".
The fire has already destroyed 160,000 hectares across Kangaroo Island including most of the famed Flinders Chase National Park.
It has claimed two lives with outback pilot Dick Lang, 78, and his 43-year-old son Clayton killed as they returned to their home.
The blaze first broke out on 20 December from a lightning strike but escalated rapidly last Friday before jumping containment lines again on Thursday.
