Smoky start to 'catastrophic' day as conditions deteriorate 'very rapidly' - The Age

Three emergency warnings have been issued for out-of-control bushfires in northern NSW as weather conditions began to deteriorate on Tuesday.

Just after midday, the Rural Fire Service issued emergency warnings for bushfires at Hillville near Nabiac, Torrington near Tenterfield, and at Thunderbolts Way in Bretti, west of Taree.

"You're talking several hundreds of homes at a time [under threat] in some of these villages," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said of homes in the path of bushfires. "[Included in these ares are] concentrations of populations as well as more isolated types of developments."

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Meanwhile, residents in the Nowendoc and Mt George area have been told it is "too late to leave" and to "seek shelter as the fire approaches".

After a cool and calm morning, the temperature in the CBD hit 33.4 degrees at 12pm, with Penrith reaching 34.5 degrees. Wind gusts up to 56km/h have been recorded in Penrith.

An eerie layer of smog covers Kempsey at dawn as much of eastern NSW faces extreme or catastrophic fire conditions.Credit:Nick Moir

The RFS is closely monitoring a blaze at Gospers Mountain, north-west of Sydney, that could move east and affect communities at St Albans and Wiseman's Ferry.

Residents in Greater Sydney, the Hunter and Illawarra are bracing for a "catastrophic" day of fire danger with severe weather conditions threatening to cause bushfire havoc the entire length of the NSW coastline.

Sydneysiders are enduring "hazardous" air quality due to smoke haze drifting down from bushfires on the Mid North Coast, where 13 bushfires are at "watch and act" warning level.

The mercury is tipped to reach 37 degrees in Sydney with wind gusts up to 80km/h in the west as conditions deteriorate "very rapidly", according to Rural Fire Service Inspector Ben Shepherd.

More than 600 schools are closed across NSW, the military is on standby and firefighters across the state are bracing for the worst conditions they have ever seen.

Catastrophic fire danger is forecast for Greater Sydney, the Hunter and the Illawarra, where more than six million people live, while a state-wide total fire ban is in place.

More than 3000 firefighters are on the ground across the state, supported by 60 aircraft. At 9am there were 52 fires burning with 30 of those uncontained.

RFS Commissioner Fitzsimmons painted a bleak picture of the bushfire outlook.

"We can expect pretty significant fires to develop. We have already got significant fires burning in the north coast of NSW. A number of those fires are exceeding 100,000 hectares alone. You're talking about a 1000-kilometre fire perimeter," Mr Fitzsimmons said.

"Fires that start and take hold will grow and develop extremely quickly. They will burn very aggressively."

The weather bureau is forecasting a powerful southerly change to hit about 7pm, which will bring relief through cooler temperatures but also poses a risk because any fires burning near the coast would change direction.

More than 100,000 homes in the Sydney basin alone are at risk of destruction based on previous bushfire activity because they lie within 100 metres of bushland.

Blue Mountains City Council mayor Mark Greenhill told ABC radio on Monday morning that the mountains felt "kind of eerie".

He said he remembered all-too-well the 2013 bushfires in his community which wiped out 200 homes in a single afternoon.

"Basically we're waiting and we're prepared. The community has been here before," he said.

"The weather conditions now are worse than they were in 2013. We're expecting high temperatures and high winds, on top of the long dry."

NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian was briefed at the Rural Fire Service headquarters on Tuesday morning, where she thanked the community for heeding the warning messages.

"Every precaution needs to take place today," she said.

Police and Emergency Services Minister David Elliot said the declared State of Emergency meant "everything that we can do has been done as a government and as agencies".

He said it was now up to the community to mitigate risk for their own safety and advised people to use the Fires Near Me app or check online to track fires moving rapidly.

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