SA farmer saves mate from deadly bushfire

A South Australian farmer may have saved his mate's life by urging him to leave as a deadly bushfire approached his house.

The major blaze, burning north of Adelaide, claimed the lives of two people on Wednesday and has left 13 people in hospital, including one who has burns to more than 80 per cent of their body.

Freeling farmer Tom Shanahan says the scale of devastation caused by the fire is "unbelievable".

He said he arrived at his friend's house and found him inside with the air conditioning on.

"He was actually having a sleep and I said 'mate, you better get in the ute and get the hell out of here'," Mr Shanahan told 891 ABC Adelaide.

"He rang me later, he was at Kapunda, and thanked me - his house has burnt to the ground."

Others took more convincing to leave their animals and evacuate to safety, Mr Shanahan said.

"(We) had to use some fairly terse words to get them into gear and get them the hell out of there.

"Otherwise they wouldn't have survived."

Wasleys Bowling Club secretary Brad McDougall told the ABC the clubhouse had been destroyed, while the town's post office and general store have also been extensively damaged.