NSW residents have been warned not to be complacent because the worst is yet to come. A dozen bushfires burn at emergency warning level in NSW: five emergency-level fires near Batlow are at risk of merging, and residents near Eden have been told it is too late to leave as a southerly change caused the Border Fire to spread from Victoria into NSW.
NSW is facing a bushfire catastrophe as 13 fires burned at 'emergency warning' level at 8.30pm, with authorities fearing for the worst.
Five emergency level fires burning near the famous apple producing town of Batlow were at risk of merging on Saturday night.
The fires, at the northern end of the evacuated Kosciuszko National Park, included the Dunns Rd fire, the fires at Adaminaby Complex and Green Valley, Talmalmo.
The fires - which already burned 388,560ha on Saturday - were edging closer to the already merged fires at East Ournie Creek and Doubtful Gap Trail.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Saturday evening warned people facing extreme bushfires "it’s not safe to move, it’s not safe to leave these areas”.
“We are in for a long night and I make no bones about that,” Ms Berejiklian said from the NSW Rural Fire Service headquarters in Sydney.
“We are still yet to hit the worst of it.”
The situation is “very volatile” with southerly winds expected to reach up to 80km/h as a change sweeps up the coast from the Victorian border. It’s not expected to reach Sydney until close to midnight.
Some 150 fires are burning across NSW with half uncontained. A dozen are at emergency warning level in southern NSW while eight are at 'watch and act'.
Bushfires are spreading rapidly as soaring temperatures and strong winds cause conditions to deteriorate across large parts of NSW.
A dangerous fire-generated thunderstorm has formed over the Currowan fire between Nowra and Batemans Bay which could spark new blazes.
Relief is forecast for later tonight with lower temperatures but pyrocumulus conditions are expected to spark severe thunderstorms.
Penrith became the hottest place on the planet at 3pm, recording its hottest ever day with the mercury reaching 48.9C.
The Bureau of Meteorology recorded a high of 47.7C in the city at 2pm. It surpasses the previous high of 47.3C which was set on January 7 2018.
Five “no go” zones have been established across broad sections of the south coast, parts of the alpine region and on fire-threatened parts of Sydney’s fringes.
Authorities have been urging people to head to cities, large towns, already- burnt areas or beaches if they haven’t already left.
It is too late to leave for some communities near those fires burning at an emergency level.
Eight people, including a firefighter, have died in NSW since Monday. Another man, seriously burnt in a bushfire in November, died in hospital on Sunday.
The death toll for Australia’s current bushfire season toll to 22, with eight who perished in NSW.
“We are in for a long night,” NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said late in the day.
She warned that a drop in temperature did not mean a reduction in the threat posed by the 150 fires burning in the state.
“We are still yet to hit the worst of it.”
It could be midnight before the greatest threat sweeps parts of the coast fuelled by southerly winds expected to reach up to 80km/h.
Blazes still threaten communities in Victoria’s bushfire-ravaged east where six people remain missing and almost a million hectares have been destroyed. About 110 properties and 220 outbuildings have been razed and authorities warn the numbers will likely grow.
“A number of people across East Gippsland that were previously missing … have been found and I can’t tell you how pleased we all are to be able to report that we’ve gone from 28 to 21, and it is now down to six people,” Premier Daniel Andrews said on Saturday night.
“We do have fears for their safety,” he added.
Among those who have reached safety are about 1200 people ferried from decimated coastal Mallacoota by HMAS Choules.
The Navy vessel reached Hastings, less than an hour’s drive from Melbourne, late on Saturday.
While Penrith recorded its highest ever temperature of 48.9C on Saturday, Canberra also experienced its hottest day on record, reaching 44C.
"The previous Canberra records are 42.2C at Canberra Airport in 1968 and 42.8C at the now-closed Acton site in 1939," a Bureau of Meteorology spokesman said.
Penrith's temperature was the "highest known temperature for the Sydney Basin for any month, passing the record set at Richmond in 1939 (47.8C)".
Five emergency level fires burning near the famous apple producing town of Batlow were at risk of merging on Saturday night.
The fires, at the northern end of the evacuated Kosciuszko National Park, included the Dunns Rd fire, the fires at Adaminaby Complex and Green Valley, Talmalmo.
The fire were tonight edging closer to the already merged fires at East Ournie Creek and Doubtful Gap Trail.
The fires had already burnt through 388,560ha on Saturday.
Essential Energy 8pm update:
"Essential Energy advises that unfortunately 32,711 customers in the Batemans Bay and Moruya region have lost power again at around 7pm this evening, and is advising customers that power will not be restored overnight as safe access is not available into the damaged area," a spokeswoman said.
"An estimated time for when power will be restored to these customers will be available once we can gain safe access to the network . We thank the community for their understanding in this unpredictable and difficult time."
A fierce southerly change blacked out the sun over Berrara within seconds at 6.45pm.
The strong winds billowed smoke over Berrara from the Conjola National Park and fanned panic among the most prepared residents.
Professional Fire and Rescue NSW firefighters swooped in, fearing embers would set homes alight.
Fortunately the fire that ringed the town burned back on itself and the flames from the south didn’t jump Berrara Creek.
Sky News reported that two power stations were destroyed on Saturday afternoon in the Snowy Mountains area.
The entire town of Batlow in the state’s south west was cloaked in a thick haze as fires raged all around it and houses were lost.
Firefighters driving around the town in trucks scrambled to save homes and put out multiple structure and grass fires as explosions could be heard.
At the local RSL a group of five men gathered next to their cars with water tanks and spray guns ready to defend themselves against the flames.
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