a couple of people posing for the camera: Kanwaljit Singh and his wife Kamaljit Kaur© Provided by Daily Mail Kanwaljit Singh and his wife Kamaljit Kaur

A Sikh couple are cooking thousands of free meals for bushfire victims in their Indian restaurant.

Kanwaljit Singh and his wife Kamaljit Kaur own the Desi Grill Bairnsdale in East Gippsland where fires have destroyed homes.

They and their staff are cooking curry and rice which is being handed to those living in temporary shelters by a team from Melbourne charity Sikh Volunteers Australia.

Mr Singh, who has lived in the area for six years, said he felt he had a 'duty' to help his fellow Australians. 

Pictures: Australia's bushfire emergency

Thick smoke from the East Gippsland bushfires still covers areas of the region on January 13, 2020 near Nicholson, Australia.  The death toll from Victorian bushfires has now risen to four, following the death of a firefighter on Saturday near Omeo. Fires in New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, Western Australia and South Australia have burned more than 10 million hectares of land in recent months. 21 people have been killed and thousands of homes and buildings have been destroyed.

'It's terrible out there. People are severely affected and they need food and shelter. It's our duty to serve them when they need us the most,' he told SBS Punjabi

He said his Sikh principals have taught him to help others in need. 

'We follow the Sikh way of life. We are just doing what other Australians are doing today, and that is to serve and pray for the people who have been hit hard by these terrible bushfires,' he said.

Mr Singh said his team helped volunteers cook 500 meals on New Year's Eve. 

a store front at night: Kanwaljit Singh helped volunteers cook 500 meals on New Year's Eve. Pictured: The Desi Grill© Provided by Daily Mail Kanwaljit Singh helped volunteers cook 500 meals on New Year's Eve. Pictured: The Desi Grill a group of people standing in front of a car: The food is being handed to those living in temporary shelters by a team from Melbourne charity Sikh Volunteers Australia (pictured)© Provided by Daily Mail The food is being handed to those living in temporary shelters by a team from Melbourne charity Sikh Volunteers Australia (pictured)

'We have the capacity to cook for up to 1,000 people in a day. But it all depends on how much is needed in the field,' he said.

'We have stock of rice, flour and lentils which we think should be sufficient for the next week or so.'

It comes amid as an effort to rescue thousands of people stuck in isolated towns in Victoria's fire-ravaged east gets under way.

The military arrived in East Gippsland on Wednesday and Black Hawk helicopters are helping to get evacuees off of the Mallacoota beach.

'Our focus today is we've got 4000 people in and around the beach there at Mallacoota and we're working with the (Australian Defence Force) and all the authorities, Victoria Police, SES, all the agencies are working together and our primary effort is to get those people out of Mallacoota,' CFA chief officer Steve Warrington told ABC News.

a man with a sunset in the snow: This picture taken on December 31, 2019 shows a firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra on the NSW south coast© Provided by Daily Mail This picture taken on December 31, 2019 shows a firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra on the NSW south coast

The deadly fires have burnt through more than 766,000 hectares across Victoria.

There are 47 fires currently going statewide, but most of the fires and burnt land are in East Gippsland.

Another fire straddling the NSW-Victoria border at Corryong is also threatening lives.

On Wednesday it was revealed Victoria's fires had claimed a life.

Mick Roberts had not made contact with family for more than 24 hours and on Wednesday his niece Leah Parson confirmed he had been found dead at his home.

'He's not missing anymore,' Ms Parsons wrote on the East Gippsland fire season 2019-2020 Facebook page.

'His body has been found in his house ... very sad day for us to srart (sic) the year but we're a bloody tight family and we will never forget our mate and my beautiful Uncle Mick.'

Victoria Police said a person had been found dead in Buchan, but the cause of his death has not yet been confirmed.

Premier Daniel Andrews lamented reports of Mr Roberts' death.

'It is of course the worst of all news, the notion that someone has lost their life,' he told ABC Gippsland.

Firefighters will be helped on Thursday by moderate conditions, with temperatures in East Gippsland in the low to mid 20s expected to be paired with fairly light winds of up to 20 kmh.

As of 8.30am on Thursday, all of the fires remained at a watch and act level.

a boat is docked next to a body of water: HMAS Choules (pictured leaving Sydney Harbour on Wednesday) will provide relief to 4,000 people who remain stranded in Mallacoota, Victoria© Provided by Daily Mail HMAS Choules (pictured leaving Sydney Harbour on Wednesday) will provide relief to 4,000 people who remain stranded in Mallacoota, Victoria a group of people in a room: Thousands of people are stranded in the seaside town of Mallacoota (pictured trapped on the beach on Tuesday)© Provided by Daily Mail Thousands of people are stranded in the seaside town of Mallacoota (pictured trapped on the beach on Tuesday)

The mercury is forecast to creep up in the region on Friday, before reaching the 40s on Saturday, when the heat, hot winds and chance of some thunderstorms are expected to increase the risk of new fires.

Mr Andrews spent Wednesday in East Gippsland where he said emotions were running high.

'I spoke with people today and they just said it was hurricane-like, horrifying, terrifying, the most frightening experience of their life.'

'The next few days are going to be a lot of hard work and the next few months will be a very long and steady process of helping these communities to rebuild,' the premier said.

So far, confirmed property losses are 24 structures at Buchan, 19 at Sarsfield, 10 at Mallacoota and up to 15 at Cudgewa.

About 24 remote communities have lost power and phone coverage.

At Microsoft News Australia we've partnered with the giving platform Benevity to raise funds for Australian Red Cross, St Vincent De Paul Society and The Salvation Army; these organisations are helping communities across the country devastated by bushfires. You can help these organisations by donating here and for the latest news and RFS links visit Bushfire emergency.

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