UPDATE: 2.30PM: Premier Jay Weatherill says damage assessment of the Sampson Flat fire zone today has discovered 26 homes that have been destroyed or substantially damaged.

As a press conference a short time ago, Weatherill said another 41 outbuildings had been destroyed or badly damaged and he expected that figure to climb.

He said 29 people had been injured, including one person who had been hospitalised today due to a severe asthma attack.

Priorities of fire crews were to contain the fire within its massive perimeter of about 238 kilometres, clear roads to help restore services and to protect the more than 1000 homes in the firezone.

The CFS said this afternoon that the perimeter had not expanded significantly today.

The Mt Lofty Ranges fire, which began on Friday, has burnt nearly 13,000 hectares, with about 1040 properties within the fire zone.

With winds and temperatures expected to pick up by Wednesday, firefighters are working as quickly as possible to contain the blaze, including backburning.

In indication that the fire danger is far from over, CFS State Coordinator Brenton Eden said this morning that fire was threatening a home in Cudlee Creek and, to the north, there was a structure fire at Humbug Scrub.

He told ABC 891 that sophisticated satellite imagery provided overnight had identified both hot-spots and unburnt areas within the fire zone.

“A priority from first light this morning will be to put crews on to those unburnt patches of land, to black out around the edges of those perimeters just to make sure that under no circumstances do we get any ignition source in those unburnt areas,” he said.

Strike teams from interstate would be deployed to protect these areas.

The satellite imagery has also been provided to 15 damage assessment teams who are on the fire ground today.

“I would expect during the course of the morning that we will see the escalation in the final figure for property loss,” Eden said.

“I know that it’s been a long time coming but it’s been difficult to get people on to the fire ground to do this sort of assessment.”

Premier Jay Weatherill being briefed by the CFS’s Greg Nettleton today.

About 20 road closures are still in place, preventing property owners from returning to check their homes.

Police Commissioner Gary Burns said one road had been reopened – the OneTree Hill/Kersbrook Road – and he hoped more would be reopened today.

However, he cautioned that the fire zone was still dangerous, with falling trees a particular risk.

Those who have been able to return have confronted some grim scenes.

“No house, not very much of anything, mate, ” was Dave Miller’s blunt assessment of what’s left at his bushfire-ravaged property at Kersbrook.

Miller, 60, was forced to flee to a friend’s house with his blue heeler Zeus when fire bore down on his Devil’s Gully Road property on Friday.

Back in Kersbrook on Monday, he was met with devastation.

“I’ve got a diesel tank still standing with 4000 litres of diesel in but I’ve got nothing else,” he told AAP.

“I’ve got full rainwater tanks with fire pumps attached to them that just disintegrated.”

Miller says he plans to rebuild and has no intention of leaving the Adelaide Hills, despite the constant threat of bushfire.

“I couldn’t go down to the city,” he said.

“I’ll stay up here. I’ll get a caravan or something to live in and just keep going.”

David Miller and his dog Zeus. AAP photo

Meanwhile, Premier Weatherill has been forced to defend the increase in the Emergency Services Levy – a budget measure that angered many CFS volunteers.

“Nobody likes paying taxes, but obviously times like this you realise where the money goes and why it’s important,” he said.

For updates from the CFS, go here.

– with AAP