1/51An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
GALLERY: Shocking images of NSW fire devastation
These are the extraordinary images of wild destruction, incredible heroism and resilient community spirit from the devastating bushfires raging across northern NSW.
2/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
3/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
4/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
5/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
6/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
7/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
8/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
9/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
10/51An out of control bushfire between Nana Glenn and Glenreagh. Picture: Nathan Edwards
11/51An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
12/51An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
13/51An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
14/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
15/51Helicopter water bombers drop badly need water to protect property. Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
16/51Helicopter water bombers drop badly need water to protect property. Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
17/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
18/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Geoff KInchin evacuates his property and will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
19/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Picture: Gary Ramage
20/51Helicopter water bombers drop badly need water to protect property. Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
21/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
22/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
23/51Helicopter water bombers drop badly need water to protect property. Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
24/51Helicopter water bombers drop badly need water to protect property. Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
25/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
26/51Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
27/51Helicopter water bombers drop badly need water to protect property. Smoke billows around Hillville as property owners fight to save their homes on Careys Rd, Hillville Rd and Merrylands Cl. Barry and Shellie Smith (of 84 Merrlyands Cl) are preparing for the worst with their home surrounded by fire. Neighbours Geoff and Cas Kinchin will be bunkering down in a nearby paddock with blankets tonight if conditions continue to worsen. Picture: Gary Ramage
28/51Fire crews contain a fire at Riches Ave, Woodford in the Blue Mountains. Picture: Brett Costello
29/51Fire crews contain a fire at Riches Ave, Woodford in the Blue Mountains. Picture: Brett Costello
30/51Fire crews contain a grass fire at Fourth Ave, Llandilo near Penrith. Picture: Brett Costello
31/51Bush fire preparation on Sydney’s Northern Beaches. A RFS Catastrophic sign on the Wakehurst Parkway at Seaforth .. picture John Grainger
32/51Smokey sunrise at Mon Vale beach. picture John Grainger
33/51Smokey sunrise at Mon Vale beach. picture John Grainger
34/51An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
35/51The Victorians spring into action. An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
36/51An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
37/51It was Luke Turner, from Branxton Brigade, first bush fire. An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
38/51An out of control bushfire jumps Wine Country Drive and smashes head on into the village of North Rothbury, north of Cessnock. Picture: Peter Lorimer
39/51A bushfire burns outside a property near Taree, 350km north of Sydney on November 12, 2019. – A state of emergency was declared on November 11, 2019 and residents in the Sydney area were warned of "catastrophic" fire danger as Australia prepared for a fresh wave of deadly bushfires that have ravaged the drought-stricken east of the country. (Photo by PETER PARKS / AFP)
40/51A bushfire burns outside a property near Taree, 350km north of Sydney on November 12, 2019. – A state of emergency was declared on November 11, 2019 and residents in the Sydney area were warned of "catastrophic" fire danger as Australia prepared for a fresh wave of deadly bushfires that have ravaged the drought-stricken east of the country. (Photo by PETER PARKS / AFP)
41/51A bushfire burns outside a property near Taree, 350km north of Sydney on November 12, 2019. – A state of emergency was declared on November 11, 2019 and residents in the Sydney area were warned of "catastrophic" fire danger as Australia prepared for a fresh wave of deadly bushfires that have ravaged the drought-stricken east of the country. (Photo by PETER PARKS / AFP)
42/51A bushfire burns outside a property near Taree, 350km north of Sydney on November 12, 2019. – A state of emergency was declared on November 11, 2019 and residents in the Sydney area were warned of "catastrophic" fire danger as Australia prepared for a fresh wave of deadly bushfires that have ravaged the drought-stricken east of the country. (Photo by PETER PARKS / AFP)
43/51A Tuncurry fire crew member fights part of the Hillville bushfire south of Taree, in the Mid North Coast region of NSW, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Parts of NSW face catastrophic bushfire danger on Tuesday, with residents in bushland areas told to leave early rather than wait for fresh fires to start. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
44/51A Tuncurry fire crew member fights part of the Hillville bushfire south of Taree, in the Mid North Coast region of NSW, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Parts of NSW face catastrophic bushfire danger on Tuesday, with residents in bushland areas told to leave early rather than wait for fresh fires to start. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
45/51A Tuncurry fire crew member fights part of the Hillville bushfire south of Taree, in the Mid North Coast region of NSW, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Parts of NSW face catastrophic bushfire danger on Tuesday, with residents in bushland areas told to leave early rather than wait for fresh fires to start. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
46/51SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA – NOVEMBER 12: A NSW Rural Fire Service firefighter mops up after a bushfire in the suburb of Llandilo on November 12, 2019 in Sydney, Australia. More than 50 fires are burning across NSW with 200 homes and sheds destroyed and three people confirmed dead. Catastrophic fire danger – the highest possible level of bushfire danger – has been forecast for the greater Sydney, Illawarra and Hunter areas which includes the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency on Monday, giving emergency powers to Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons and prohibiting fires across the state while almost 600 schools have also been closed as a safety precaution. (Photo by Sam Mooy/Getty Images)
47/51Owen Whalan, 85 yrs, who met Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday, was back at home and happy with his border collies when he was evacuated for the second time after fire burnt up his back paddock minutes after this image was taken at near Taree on the Mid North Coast region of NSW, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Parts of NSW face catastrophic bushfire danger on Tuesday, with residents in bushland areas told to leave early rather than wait for fresh fires to start. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
48/51A firefighter proceeds to dose bush fire at the Woodford residential area in Blue Mountains on November 12, 2019. – A state of emergency was declared on November 11, 2019 and residents in the Sydney area were warned of "catastrophic" fire danger as Australia prepared for a fresh wave of deadly bushfires that have ravaged the drought-stricken east of the country. (Photo by Saeed KHAN / AFP)
49/51Jamie Fato fights a blaze on a property at Koorainghat, part of the Hillville fire near Taree, in the Mid North Coast region of NSW, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Parts of NSW face catastrophic bushfire danger on Tuesday, with residents in bushland areas told to leave early rather than wait for fresh fires to start. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
50/51A National Parks and Wildlife crew member fights flames at Half Chain road at Koorainghat, near Taree in the Mid North Coast region of NSW, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Parts of NSW face catastrophic bushfire danger on Tuesday, with residents in bushland areas told to leave early rather than wait for fresh fires to start. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)
51/51A Gloucester fire crew member fights flames at Koorainghat, near Taree in the Mid North Coast region of NSW, Tuesday, November 12, 2019. Parts of NSW face catastrophic bushfire danger on Tuesday, with residents in bushland areas told to leave early rather than wait for fresh fires to start. (AAP Image/Darren Pateman)