The smoke may have cleared, but Knysna is still fuming over insurance claims that have left many fire victims embroiled in costly legal battles.
Residents have also reported trouble with telephone and rates bills. Some say they are still without telecommunications since the fire three months ago.
Knysna lawyer Donald Curtis said he had a heavy caseload stemming from people being underinsured.
In most cases legal action had been aimed at insurance brokers."The big issue that I've found from [legal] claims - and I'm sitting on a lot of them - is claims against the brokers," he said.
"Brokers are the financial advisers and they have a code of conduct in terms of which they must conduct a [client] needs analysis and recommend insurance products. But they don't always do that.
"People are dramatically underinsured. They are getting penalised for errors in their policy."
Rocketing premiums
Affected residents are now airing grievances and swapping horror stories on two Facebook pages, After Burn and Knysna Fires 7th June.
Complaints range from disputes with insurance brokers to rocketing premiums.
In one case the contents premium jumped 50% and the building premium 31%.
"I then phoned my insurance, who reduced my increases to 17.5% contents and 15% buildings," the resident said.The post prompted several comments.
"The fire in Knysna was not caused by any individual that lost their property - it was a disaster, and therefore I can't see how any inflated increase can be justified," said one.
Said another: "My contents [premium] also shot up due to living in 'dangerous' Knysna.
"They were only willing to cover for fire but not theft, as I don't yet have a full perimeter fence, despite the fact I have an alarm and response company."
'Isolated and vulnerable'
According to correspondence seen by the Sunday Times, some residents have also complained to Telkom about an apparent decision not to restore landline services to a fire-ravaged area outside town.
"Many of the people in this area are still suffering from the shock of the fires and now feel further isolated and vulnerable because of the Telkom decision and lack of consideration," said Malcolm Dixon, whose property outside Sedgefield survived the blaze.
"We have never had any communication, notifications or advisory information from Telkom directly throughout this whole matter - no letters or e-mails, or even visits, individually or to any representative group. Yet the bills are still sent with regularity," Dixon said.
A Telkom spokesman said the company reserved the right not to restore service for logistical and practical reasons.
Among the reasons were the cost of installing new infrastructure in an area with limited demand...