Emotional Kangaroo Island residents who fled the fire emergency on their island have told of their fear and uncertainty, after taking refuge in Kingscote.

Key points: Residents on Kangaroo Island were urged to shelter in Penneshaw and Kingscote overnight

Residents on Kangaroo Island were urged to shelter in Penneshaw and Kingscote overnight Video and photos captured by a helicopter pilot show the intensity of the fire near Parndana

Video and photos captured by a helicopter pilot show the intensity of the fire near Parndana While conditions are abating, the island's Mayor described the situation as "hell on earth"

Locals congregated in the town on the island's north-east coast — one of two overnight safe havens, along with Penneshaw — after two bushfire emergencies were declared in Thursday's extreme weather conditions.

Kingscote became isolated from other parts of the island as the crisis worsened and roads were closed, while SeaLink ferry services were restricted to locals only.

Footage captured by helicopter pilot Trent Lawson has revealed exactly what residents were fleeing from, showing the intensity of one of the fire fronts near Parndana.

"Pretty hardcore fire decimating KI at the moment. Props to everyone on the ground busting their assets to try and pull this up," Mr Lawson said on Instagram.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Watch Duration: 34 seconds 34 s Aerial vision of the fires over Kangaroo Island filmed captured by Trent Lawson.

Another fire front has threatened the town of Vivonne Bay, where evacuations were carried out on Wednesday.

"It was an incredibly tough and tense night on Kangaroo Island last night," Emergency Services Minister Corey Wingard said.

Residents and holidaymakers gathered at Kingscote Oval and near the town's jetty, with many unable to sleep amid the chaos unfolding to the south and west.

"We went to one friend, then we went to another friend in Kingscote and now we're here, so we're crossing our fingers," said Alana Furniss, a mother-of-three who fled the Parndana blaze while her husband fought the fire.

"This is our third spot. We came in from Cygnet River, our house is out there. I don't know whether that's still there or not.

"Hopefully the wind will change and we'll be the safest here."

Kangaroo Island residents Jeanene Ellson and Alana Furniss took refuge on the Kingscote Oval overnight. ( ABC News )

Mayor describes Kangaroo Island fire as 'hell on earth'

Kate Heinrich was evacuated to Kingscote from her family's sheep farm north of Parndana on Wednesday night and said she has been waiting for news on the fire situation.

"So I went home and spent my birthday yesterday here in Kingscote thinking this was the safest place on the island and then yesterday we got told that the fire was heading our way and we were just freaking out," she said.

Kate Heinrich was evacuated from her family's farm north of Parndana on Kangaroo Island. ( ABC News: Casey Briggs )

"Late last night we just packed up the house that I was staying with a couple of people in and we came here and I haven't slept at all last night.

"We have just been hanging in the car waiting and waiting for news.

"Luckily I found out my family are OK but they dodged a bullet because the fire just came right at the edge of my farm."

Kingscote resident Jeanene Ellson said despite the stress of the situation people were coming together.

"We're all pretty stressed but we think the safest place to be is near the sea, so that if you have to go in the water, you can," she said.

"We've got plenty of open space here, we're just hoping that maybe the wind might change enough or drop out enough that it will just bypass, we're hoping."

Her husband, Peter Ellson, said it was a lot to process.

"I just can't get my head around it. It's never happened my whole life on the island, never like this," he said.

The Kangaroo Island bushfire burns through farmland on Thursday. ( Instagram: Trent Lawson/tmanadventure )

Holidaymaker Nick Markopoulos, who lived on the island for 15 years before moving to New South Wales, was among those who gathered near the Kingscote jetty.

"We've come down here as a safe point, I figure we're surrounded by water, it can't burn behind us. We'll just sit it out and wait and see and hope for the best," he said.

"We reside in Tumut in New South Wales which is also under threat by fire in the Snowy Mountains."

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In a tweet in the small hours of this morning, the island's Mayor Michael Pengilly described the unfolding disaster as "hell on earth".

"We are dead beat," he said just before 3:00am.

"Last night was a debacle," Mr Pengilly told ABC Radio Adelaide later in the morning but added that recovery efforts were continuing.

"The native bush will start regenerating quite quickly. In a few weeks, particularly out west, you'll see a lot of green shoots coming out," he said.

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About 300 Australian Defence Force personnel are currently stationed on the island, and assisted with evacuations on Thursday.

Fires on the island have been burning for four weeks and intensified a week ago when the Ravine blaze was declared an emergency, claiming two lives.

The Country Fire Service said more than 170,000 hectares had been burnt by the Ravine fire alone, and that 280 CFS personnel were on the island.

Bushfire recovery service, Island Care, said it had received support for the Kangaroo Island community from around the globe.

"We've had everybody from all over Australia, America, Africa, everywhere offering aid," the organisation's Catherine Kewley said

"Food, clothing, water and farm tools have already been distributed across the island."