A year on from the Port Hill fires, the blaze stands out in the minds of firefighters because of its complexity.

The two fires burnt through 16000 hectares and destroyed nine homes.

Deputy principal rural fire officer Dale Whilhelm says it wasn't just another fire because it involved people's lives and homes.

"Normally we fight a fire, we go in there, we put our resources in, we hit it hard, we get out but here we were right amongst people's homes, we were dealing with the public, we were being not only fire fighters but counsellors."

Whilhelm says its sad because he lost a colleague and a friend helicopter pilot Steve Askin.

"I had actually worked with Steve a week before at another fire and got to know him over that time. So yeah to come up here and find out, on day two for me, that we had lost him was a really low point.

He says it was a particularly difficult fire to fight because it involved peoples lives and homes.