Firefighters have a long night ahead of them with strong winds not expected to reach northern NSW fire grounds until midnight.
The Bureau of Meteorology on Tuesday afternoon warned things are going to get worse before they get better.
More than 50 fires are raging across NSW with 30 uncontained and more than half a dozen subject to emergency warnings.
The Greater Sydney, Greater Hunter and Illawarra-Shoalhaven regions have been given a catastrophic fire danger rating.
BOM state manager Ann Farrell says a low-pressure system moving across the state is bringing “strengthening, hot, dry winds” that will increase the fire danger.
“The conditions are going to get increasingly dangerous throughout the afternoon,” she told reporters in Sydney.
Rural Fire Service NSW commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says Tuesday is playing out as predicted with average winds up to 60km/h across the ranges, with gusts over 70km/h.
“They will continue to strengthen and build ahead of the passage of that cold front that’s moving across the state,” Mr Fitzsimmons told reporters.
“Later on today, we’re expecting the southerly to start influencing and driving like a southerly buster up the coastal strip, and more southwesterly-southerly across the ranges and further inland.”
Mr Fitzsimmons said firefighters and affected communities were facing “a really long night” as winds strengthened.
“This southerly is going to continue through and those strong winds are not going to get to northern areas of NSW until midnight or early the hours of this morning across some of these fire grounds,” he said.
Stuart Ellis from the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council says the state won’t feel the real impact of the weather conditions until later on Tuesday.
“This event will develop late in the day, particularly for Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra,” he told ABC TV.
Mr Fitzsimmons said there would unfortunately be no reprieve for firefighters with no rainfall in the southerly change and warm, dry conditions set to dominate in the days and weeks ahead.
“As we look out a little bit further, we’re expecting a cyclical pattern of increasing temperatures as we head into the end of this week and indeed as we head into next week,” he said.
“It’s going to be a long, difficult fire season, and we’ve got the worst of our conditions typically ahead of us over the coming months as we head into summer.”
Keep up to date – New South Wales
As at: 1:40 – 12 Nov 2019
There are currently seven [7] emergency fire warnings in NSW
Resources
RFS TV updates https://t.co/Caz8AoCesP
RFS website = https://t.co/8gRH6npqhB
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Nine schools have been evacuated, after more than 600 schools and TAFEs across NSW were closed, as were childcare centres in high-risk areas.
“We’ve got every firefighter we can get, we’ve got every aircraft we can get, we’ve got military aircraft coming in to help us to look at rescuing people if people are stuck,” Rural Fire Service Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.
“Absolutely everything we can do is being brought to bear.”
It is the first time the catastrophic rating has been used since it was introduced a decade ago.
There is an extreme fire danger rating – the second highest – for the NSW north coast, southern ranges, central ranges, New England, northern slopes and north-western areas.
Bush areas on Sydney’s fringes are at greatest risk. However, ash could travel as far as 30 kilometres to the CBD.
Mr Rogers said blistering temperatures in the high 30s, low humidity and winds of up to 80km/h, coupled with the drought meant NSW faced “horrendous conditions”.
“I just hope we get through that OK,” he said.
A week-long state of emergency has been declared by Premier Gladys Berejiklian, who has pleaded with people to heed the fire service’s warnings and stay away from bushland.
Defence Minister Linda Reynolds has said Australian Defence Force personnel would be on standby to provide other support if needed.
Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said residents faced what “could be the most dangerous bushfire week this nation has ever seen”.
Exhausted firefighters 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭Our genuine heroes 😭😭😭😭
Thank you for your efforts , for your bravery for the last weeks .Praying for your safety as of today 😭😭😭😭😭😭 #NSWfires #bushfires pic.twitter.com/0UXxZNBm2O
— KEEERRRRRR (@bubuke4U) November 11, 2019
Mr Rogers said places where fires were already raging and were not contained – such as the mid-north coast and north coast – are “going to cause us problems”.
Fires since Friday have claimed the lives of three people and destroyed at least 150 homes.
This week, a war of words has broken out over a potential link between the fires and climate change.
Ms Berejiklian said it was not the time to discuss the issue, but insisted her government had not shied away from talking about it and would discuss it at another time.
On Monday, Deputy Prime Minister Michael McCormack condemned what he described as the “disgraceful, disgusting” behaviour of “raving inner-city lunatics” linking climate change to the blazes.
But some of those who have been directly affected made their feelings clear.
“To disregard the issue of climate change in a situation like this is wrong,” Cerene Lowe, whose home was among many razed in Wytaliba on Friday, said.
Fellow Wytabila resident and Glen Innes Severn mayor Carol Sparks, whose home has been severely damaged by fire, said there was “no doubt” about the link to climate change.
It is also estimated that at least 350 koalas have perished in the fires.
Queensland fire threat
Queensland is also bracing for severe fire danger as temperatures soar up to 10 degrees above average in coming days.
Conditions are expected to worsen on Tuesday, with high to very high fire danger forecast and severe conditions expected mid-week.
There are 65 bushfires statewide, with an uncontrolled blaze at Cobraball in central Queensland that by Monday had destroyed eight homes and damaged five.
Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Vince Rowlands said hot, dry and windy conditions were expected to peak on Wednesday. There would be a couple of easier days before the winds strengthened again at the weekend.
Much of the state is suffering “pretty poor air quality” due to smoke. Mr Rowlands said that would remain for some days.
No significant rain is forecast for the next week and long-term predictions are for drier and warmer than average conditions.
People with respiratory conditions have been told to stay inside, with health authorities warning people to stay inside unless necessary.
-with AAP
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