An emergency bushfire alert forced the closure of Canberra Airport on Thursday afternoon, with all flights to and from the airport grounded.
Water bombers were closing in on the fast-moving grass fire near Canberra airport, as those inside the airport and nearby residents were told it was too late to leave.
The out-of-control blaze was burning on each side of the airport and it is unclear how long flights will be affected with several of them being diverted to Sydney.
A bushfire south of the airport was set to “emergency” level on Thursday.
Hundreds of passengers have been impacted by the fire, which blew heavy smoke across the runway.
Videos posted by onlookers showed strong winds ripping through the trees and thick blankets of smoke next to the airport and waterbombers closing in on the fire.
Tweet from @ElizaEdNews
Residents in the Canberra suburbs of Beard, Oaks Estate as well Queanbeyan’s Crestwood have been told it’s too late leave and they should seek shelter.
The blaze started on Wednesday but strong winds and high temperatures have seen conditions in Canberra deteriorate.
A second fire near the airport that started on Thursday morning is at “watch and act” level.
Nearby residents were told to get their bushfire plans ready as authorities warned conditions could get worse.
Tweet from @emilybarton1211
Firefighters were also responding to burning trees in the southern Canberra suburb of Monash.
ACT emergency services have issued a total fire ban.
A large fire near Adaminaby, south of the ACT, is at “emergency” level while the Clyde Mountain fire on the NSW south coast has been upgraded to “watch and act”.
‘Long afternoon and night’ in NSW
Meanwhile, emergency warnings have been issued for five bushfires burning in regional NSW.
The NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) said it would be a “long afternoon and night”.
One of the warnings is for a massive fire in the Snowy Mountains which is spreading quickly towards Adaminaby.
Another is for a new blaze at Big Jack Mountain, in the Bega Valley.
Fires at Clyde Mountain, Eurobodalla and Badja Forest Road, Snowy Monaro, Eurobodalla and Bega Valley and Creewah Road, Glen Allen at Snowy Monaro are also burning at an emergency level.
Residents in the New Line Road and Creewah Road area were being told it was too late to leave and were asked to seek shelter as the fire approached.
Meanwhile, the fire burning between Bega and Moruya is more than 240,000 hectares in size and residents were being asked to leave immediately if it was safe to do so.
The bushfire in the Hills District that threatened the suburbs of Box Hill and Nelson, around 40km from the Sydney CBD, was downgraded with residents told to monitor conditions.
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