UPDATE 8.39PM:
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NSW Police are advising residents in the Hawkesbury LAC to either stay put and activate their bushfire emergency plan, or evacuate to the Richmond Club in Market Street, Richmond.
UPDATE 8.05PM:
Dozens of homes are feared destroyed and thousands more remain in the path of fires still burning out of control as NSW is hit by its worst bushfire emergency in more than a decade.
There are more than 90 fires burning across the state at 8pm, about 35 of which remain uncontained.
‘‘This is as bad as it gets. You’re talking people losing everything they own," RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.
Emergency warnings are in place for seven fires, with watch and act advisories in place for four others.
The major concerns are:
Wyong - the Central Coast fire has ignited a large fuel storage area on Blue Wren Drive with explosions reported. Properties are under threat in Doyalson North, Lake Munmorah, Gwandalan and Catherine Hill Bay.
Wandandian - the Shoalhaven fire is burning in the area of Maddens Road at Wandandian.
Balmoral Village - the Southern Highlands fire is posing a threat to homes in Bargo after earlier threatening the village of Yanderra.
Muswellbrook - the Hunter fire burning near Hungerford Creek is a fast moving bushfire and is currently 2,000 hectares in size. It is out of control and moving in a south-easterly direction.
Lithgow - Dangerous and out of control, the fire has passed from the Lithgow area and is now heading towards Mt Tomah in the Blue Mountains.
Port Stephens - after being downgraded on Thursday afternoon there are reports it has now crossed the Pacific Highway and an emergency warning has been again issued.
Springwood - the Blue Mountains fire has destroyed homes and is still threatening Springwood, Winmalee, Yellow Rock, Mt Riverview and Emu Heights.
Watch and Act advisories are in place for a bushfire Leppington near Camden, Mt Victoria in the Blue Mountains, Blackjack Mountain near Muswellbrook and Mount Tangory Fire near Singleton.
UPDATE 6:30PM:
Deputy RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers has just delivered a grim assessment of the current fire threat in NSW, saying it's the worst situation he's seen in more than a decade and the threat is unlikely to ease for some time.
"It was a very warm winter, a very dry winter ... we're not even one month into spring and we've already got this," he told Channel Seven.
"If people imagine a fire runs in a long line and then that whole side of that fire becomes the front of the fire with the south-westerly change. The worst combination is north-westerly to south-westerly and we've got that now.
"We've got an incredibly long fire front and there is no sign of any rain coming.
"We will certainly have easing conditions tomorrow but the size of these fires are such that they don't actually need the weather conditions because they are so big they create their own climatic conditions."
Initial reports now suggest more than 100 homes have been lost, with 20 to 30 homes destroyed in Springwood in the Blue Mountains.
Premier Barry O'Farrell told reporters he believed "hundreds" of homes had been lost.
There are also unconfirmed reports of properties being lost at North Doyalson on the central coast; at Lithgow; at Yanderra and Balmoral in the southern highlands; and in Port Stephens, where a fire is burning near Newcastle Airport, which has been closed.
UPDATE 5:25PM:
The Hungerford Creek fire at Muswellbrook is now threatening homes in the area.
Rural properties at Martindale Valley, Horseshoe Valley, and Kings Creek are likely to be impacted by fire and residents are advised to leave now.
Embers are currently falling in the Martindale Valley.
A new, fast-moving fire at Lake Munmorah is also threatening properties.
There is active fire along the Pacific Highway between Tall Timbers Road and Carters Road.
Properties in Chain Valley Bay are under threat.
Meanwhile, traffic is heavy at the base of the Blue Mountains as residents attempt to leave the area.
UPDATE 4:34pm:
Major concerns for the Blue Mountains.
With reports of homes already lost at Springwood and Winmalee, and an emergency warning issued for Mt Victoria the Lithgow fire has now progressed from that area and is headed to Mt Tomah in the Blue Mountains.
An emergency alert has been sent to residents at Mt Wilson, Mt Irvine and Mt Tomah.
With multiple fires in the area people who can put off any travel plans for this afternoon are urged to do so.
UPDATE 4:21pm:
A southerly change is expected across most of the major firegrounds later on Thursday.
But instead of being welcome relief it could pose more problems.
‘‘It’s going to continue like this for ... three or four hours,’’ Deputy RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said.
‘‘Then we’re looking at a southerly change which is going to bring gusty south-westerlies which will turn the side of the fire into the head of the fire and bring us a whole new lot of drama.’’
UPDATE 4:08pm:
The NSW Rural Fire Service website is down.
The are still updating their Twitter account at @NSWRFS
UPDATE 4:04pm:
A number of homes have been destroyed by bushfires at Springwood and Winmalee in the NSW Blue Mountains, the Rural Fire Service fears.
NSW RFS spokesman Anthony Clark says the fire is burning very quickly there and there was potential to lose more homes over Thursday afternoon.
There are also unconfirmed reports of properties being lost at Lithgow, at Yanderra and Balmoral, in the Southern Highlands, and in Port Stephens, where a fire is burning near Newcastle Airport.
UPDATE 3:57pm:
Linksview Road, Springwood: Ellison Primary school is being evacuated to Springwood public.
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) October 17, 2013
A reminder of this weather warning issued by the Bureau of Meteorology at 12.30pm. Their next warning is due at 5pm.
DAMAGING WINDS AHEAD OF A COLD FRONT
Strengthening north to northwesterly winds ahead of a cold front expected to cross southeastern New South Wales during this afternoon. Wind is expected to ease behind the front later this afternoon and evening.
Damaging winds around 60 km/h with peak gusts of 90 km/h are forecast for parts of the Hunter, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains and Australian Capital Territory forecast districts.
Thredbo Top Station AWS recorded mean wind speed of 110km/h with wind gust of 140km/h at 1am.
UPDATE 3.50PM:
Vision has been made available of the Springwood fire.
UPDATE 3:30PM:
All aircraft have been grounded at the Lithgow fire due to dangerous winds. #nswfires
— Rob Rogers (@robrfs) October 17, 2013
Smoke from fires around NSW is now visible on Bureau of Meteorology radar.
UPDATE 3PM:
A seventh emergency warning has been issued for a fire at Varroville, west of Sydney.
A grass fire is burning in the area around St James Road and St Davids Road.
Hall Road Fire #Balmoral Village: The Hume motorway closed between Mittagong & Bargo. The Main Sthn Railway is also closed. #nswfires
— NSW RFS (@NSWRFS) October 17, 2013
More vision has also been made available of conditions in Lithgow, courtesy of the Lithgow Mercury.
UPDATE 2:50PM:
Smoke from the Balmoral fire is visible from Lake Illawarra, as seen in this photo.
Schools in Lithgow and Springwood have been evacuated as fires approach.
UPDATE 2:36PM:
There are reports of explosions and spot fires at Springwood.
50 firefighters are on scene supported by four aircraft and 11 fire trucks.
There are now six emergency warnings in place for fires at Blackjack Mountain, near Muswellbrook, Springwood, Heatherbrae, Balmoral Village, South Nowra and Lithgow.
UPDATE 2:10PM:
Another emergency warning has just been issued for a fire burning near homes at Springwood, in the Blue Mountains.
Very little information is available on that fire at the moment.
Elsewhere, firefighters have lost a crucial tool in their battle against the Lithgow blaze, with winds forcing the grounding of all aircraft.
UPDATE 2PM:
Fairfax Regional reporter Laura Pillans spoke to the Sydney Morning Herald from Lithgow.
She reported being able to see flames from the residential area of Morts Estate.
Fire has also cut transport access to the Southern Highlands, south of Sydney.
UPDATE 1:50PM:
Reports of fire breaking out on the other side of the Blue Mountains. NSW Fire and Rescue are responding to a fire at Springwood. An emergency warning has been issued for Quinn's Lane at South Nowra (Shoalhaven).
UPDATE 1:16pm:
For anyone heading over the Blue Mountains from Sydney on Thursday there are a number of changes to roads and public transport with travelers being warned to give themselves extra time to reach their destinations.
They include:
- the Bells Line of Road is closed between Lithgow and Bell in both directions
- The Darling Causeway is closed northbound at the Great Western Highway in Mount Victoria.
- Motorists are advised to use the Great Western Highway as an alternative.
- State Mine Gully Road has been closed until further notice.
- The Central to Lithgow train (Blue Mountains Line)is being replaced by buses between Mount Victoria and Lithgow.
UPDATE 1:12pm:
The Bureau of Meteorology, meanwhile, has issued a severe weather warning for damaging winds in the Hunter, Illawarra, Central Tablelands, Southern Tablelands, Snowy Mountains and Australian Capital Territory forecast districts."Strengthening north to northwesterly winds ahead of a cold front expected to cross southeastern New South Wales during this afternoon. Wind is expected to ease behind the front later this afternoon and evening," the bureau said.
Winds will be around 60 km/h with peak gusts of 90 km/h for those regions.
Temperatures, meanwhile, have probably peaked in Sydney at 33.6 degrees. The airport reached 33.9 degrees, with winds gusting to 82 km/h there.
UPDATE 1:06pm:
The Balmoral Village fire in the Southern Highlands is now burning towards the township of Yanderra. Residents there are being told to leave now if the path is clear and to head towards Bargo.
EARLIER
Fire authorities have set up evacuation centres in the Blue Mountains as a fire near Lithgow burns out of control and another two blazes threaten properties in other parts of the state.
"The [Lithgow] fire has now crossed the Bells Line of Road and is out of control," the Rural Fire Service said on Thursday afternoon, as rising temperatures and strong winds worsened fire conditions across much of the state.
A fire at Balmoral, near Bargo in the southern highlands, is also posing an immediate threat to properties, the RFS said.
Emergency warnings have been issued for the Lithgow and Balmoral fires, and for a fire that has burnt out 860 hectares at Heatherbrae, near Port Stephens.
In the Blue Mountains, evacuation centres have been set up at Lithgow Workers Club and the Mount Tomah Botanic Gardens.
‘‘Conditions are deteriorating, with hot and gusty winds," the RFS said on its website on Thursday morning. "Properties around Clarence and Oaky Park will come under threat today."
The RFS advised residents in the Lithgow area to seek shelter and said an emergency alert telephone warning message was being sent to homes in the region.
"Smoke is affecting the areas of Oaky Park, Clarence, Dargan and Bell. Smoke from this fire is also drifting across the Sydney basin."
Communities in the area held meetings last night to discuss their fire plans and some residents had decided to leave, RFS spokesman Joel Kursawe said. The Zig Zag school has also been closed.
RFS tweeted this map of the bushfire near Lithgow. "Each square is one kilometre so you can see why it's not easy to control," the RFS said.
The fire at Heatherbrae has breached containment lines under gusty winds, the RFS said, but was being controlled. Properties may come under threat around Tomago Road and Cabbage Tree Road.
Temperatures in Sydney had already hit 31 degrees by 11am on Thursday, headed for a high of about 34 degrees before a cool change arrives in the afternoon. The heat is likely to be accompanied by strong gusty winds, elevating the fire threat if blazes start.
The RFS has declared a total fire ban across six of the state's 21 fire regions. It is the seventh time this fire season a total fire ban has been declared in Sydney. This time last year, there had only been one total fire ban day.
The greater Sydney region, the greater Hunter and the Illawarra/Shoalhaven regions also have a severe fire danger rating, which recommends residents leave the area early if they are not prepared "to the highest level".
Sydney has recorded just 10 millimetres of rain this month, extending a largely dry spell that began in mid-June. Rain in early June created an early burst of vegetation growth and the record warmth of the past three months has then dried this fuel load out, adding to the fire risk.
"The lead-up to this year’s [fire season] has been almost perfect for bad fire conditions,’’ Weatherzone meteorologist Ben Domensino said.
Fire alert
RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said the Lithgow fire was burning up towards the Darling Causeway and could affect that area later on Thursday, he said.
‘‘The fact is that the fire will not be stopped by firefighters and we’ve got some very strong winds forecast for the area, gusting up to 95 kilometres an hour. So obviously we’re quite concerned about that today,’’ he told the Seven Network.
About 40 firefighters are battling the fire, which has burnt out more than 400 hectares in the Marrangaroo army range and the Newnes State Forest.
An "advice" alert is also in place for a controlled fire burning near Wisemans Ferry, in the Hawkesbury region.
Cool change
Thursday's wind change, when it comes, is likely to be more gradual than in recent hot days in Sydney. A partial wind-shift to the west-north-west should come through between 11am and 1pm, with a further shift to the south-west expected to reach the city after 3pm, Mr Domensino said.
Temperatures should drop noticeably after 4pm.
‘‘It will still be quite gusty and so posing a hazard to any fires that are burning.’’
While Friday may see maximums drop back to 22 degrees - the long-term October average for the city - the mercury should climb back to 28 by Sunday and 31 on Monday before cooler conditions arrive. That system may bring 10-20 millimetres of rain.
Longer-term relief from the hot start to spring for Sydney and much of NSW may not be too far off.
Moisture is starting to build up across northern Australia, an early sign that the pool of hot air across inland regions that has fed record heat across much of eastern Australia is starting to break up, Mr Domensino said.
Transport disruptions
Transport authorities have closed the Bells Line of Road between Lithgow and Bell as a result of the fire in the region. Motorists are advised to use the Great Western Highway as an alternative, according to the Transport Management Centre.The 11.25am train from Lithgow to Central has also been replaced by buses between Lithgow and Mount Victoria, the centre said.
with AAP