Tasmania Police have charged a 35-year-old man from Mangana in Tasmania's north-east with unlawfully starting a fire on a day of total fire ban.

Key points: The fire in Fingal has been burning for days and residents are affected by thick smoke

The fire in Fingal has been burning for days and residents are affected by thick smoke TFS says hot weather and strong winds are making it difficult for firefighters to manage the situation

TFS says hot weather and strong winds are making it difficult for firefighters to manage the situation TFS hopes conditions will ease overnight

Police alleged the man set fire to vegetation in Mangana during a total fire ban period on December 30.

The accused will appear in an out-of-hours court hearing in Launceston on Saturday night.

The Fingal fires have so far spread more than 15,000 hectares and one home has been destroyed.

Fingal resident Jeanette Parsons said the smoke conditions in the town were only worsening each day.

"It's getting worse as the day goes on with the smoke, at my place you can smell it coming through the windows," she said.

Ms Parsons said she felt "terrible" knowing the fire had been deliberately lit.

"I feel that sick. Since the fire started, I've only had about an hour's sleep thinking about the people out there fighting them and my family," she said.

Resident Peter Hall said the fire on Monday took locals by surprise.

"It was very scary for all of the local residents and for everybody because the fires were so fierce and the embers floating around," he said.

Mr Hall said the situation had been tough on those who had been forced to evacuate their homes.

"So many people have been affected by this. It puts people's lives at risk, their livelihoods," he said.

The strong winds have hindered the efforts of firefighters. ( Supplied: Darren Elms )

Conditions set to ease

Tasmania Fire Service (TFS) senior station officer Rick Mahnken said hot weather and strong winds today had made it difficult to control the Fingal fires burning at watch and act level.

"We've been forecast a blow-up day. From from what we've seen so far on the ground, it's been difficult to control," he said.

The strong winds and smoke have also made it too difficult to utilise aircrafts to fight the fires from above.

"Our aerial assets can't get down there because of the smoke and the wind turbulence, so we really don't know what's happening," Mr Mahnken said.

"We know that it has reached containment lines, we're still assessing it as we speak.

"We've just noticed to the south here at Bear Rock, we're getting fire creep down towards some of the houses."

The TFS hopes conditions into Sunday will help firefighters take control of the fires.

"We expect conditions to drop out tomorrow, so we'll start to get on top of this fire," Mr Mahnken said.