At least 40 homes have been lost and several firefighters severely burned after out-of-control bushfires ripped through the Blue Mountains.
Balmoral – home to around 700 people in the New South Wales Southern Highlands – and several other tiny towns were ravaged by the enormous 415,000 hectare megafire early on Thursday afternoon.
Two firefighters had to be placed in induced comas after being overrun by flames at Bargo, while another three are injured.
A 56-year-old man suffering burns to his face and legs and a 28-year-old woman with burns to her face both had to be airlifted to Concord Hospital in ‘serious conditions’.
The Hume Highway has been shut between Campbelltown and Mittagong, with the blaze threatening to jump the road.
Motorists have been warned they face having their holiday plans ruined by the bushfires blazing around the vital motorway connecting the region with Sydney.
A tree is engulfed by flames after 45C temperatures and 100km/h winds created a perfect storm in the NSW Blue Mountains
A property was flattened in Buxton, 150 kilometres southwest of Sydney as residents were told it was too late to leave
A swing set appeared to be the only remaining structure on a fire-ravaged Buxton property
Burnt-out cars sat in fire-ravaged bushland in Buxton as fire threatened multiple communities south-west of Sydney
‘As bad as conditions are today, Saturday is going to be worse,’ NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said on Thursday afternoon.
‘If you are told a road is closed, if you are told not to travel please take the advice, this is a state of emergency, we don’t take it lightly.
‘It’s normally a special time of the year, but we are under extreme circumstance and we just need everybody to listen to the warnings.’
In Balmoral and the neighbouring town of Bargo, authorities said 20 homes have been destroyed, while another 20 were lost in Buxton.
In Balmoral and the neighbouring town of Bargo, NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian said 20 homes have been destroyed, while another 20 were lost in Buxton
A truck caught ablaze as the devastating fires ripped through NSW’s southern highlands on Thursday
One woman who was loading horses into a float as she fled Bargo – where at least six homes have been lost – said both her animals and residents of the town were ‘in panic mode’.
‘Property can be saved but it’s life that can,’ she told 9News.
Residents in many towns have now being told it is too late to leave.
Adding to the headaches for fire fighters is a southerly change, due to hit on Thursday and push the blaze towards southern Sydney suburbs including Tahmoor.
Residents in Tahmoor, Pheasants Nest, Buxton, Couridjah, Thirlmere, Bargo, Balmoral and Yanderra have been told it is too late to leave.
The mayor of Wollondilly Shire Matthew Deeth said the situation was ‘as serious as it gets’.
The bushfire left behind just a smouldering wreckage of this home after striking the township of Bargo – with one resident said they were shocked the fire had reached suburbia
Residents watched on as the out-of-control bushfire near Bargo sent thick plumes of smoke into the sky
‘Our evacuation centre at Picton Bowling Club is at capacity and our RFS volunteers are stretched incredibly thin,’ he told The Australian.
One resident said they were shocked the fire had reached suburbia – with the collection of small towns less than 50km away from Campbelltown on Sydney’s south-western fringe.
The devastating blazes have prompted NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian to declare a state of emergency for the next seven days.
By 7pm on Thursday evening, the state’s Rural Fire Service extended the same warning to the towns of Newnes Junction, Dargan and Clarence in the Blue Mountains.
Two major fire fronts have converged in Balmoral – which have been fanned by the winds exceeding 100 km/h
A property smoulders at Balmoral after the flames left a trail of destruction in their wake on Thursday
A ball of flamed consumed this home in Buxton, which neighbours fire-ravaged Balmoral in NSW’s Southern Highlands,
While conditions are expected to ease slightly overnight, Rural Fire Services (RFS) crews will be under the pump for days to come with conditions expected to hit 42C on Saturday
A 56-year-old man suffering burns to his face and legs and a 28-year-old woman with burns to her face both had to be airlifted to Concord Hospital in ‘serious conditions’
‘We have got two major fire fronts having impacted this location on Wilson (Drive) Balmoral,’ Fire and Rescue duty commander Kerin Lambert told The Daily Telegraph.
‘Two major fire fronts have literally come together.
‘When it happened, we had 50m high winds, at least 100km/h winds, incredible radiant heat and numerous houses were catching alight.’
Firefighters in the Blue Mountains are meanwhile desperately battling to contain a blaze – which on Friday crossed the Bells Line of Road – burning near the outskirts of the town of Bilpin
Firefighters were unable to save this home at Bargo, believed to be one of a few dozen lost on a horror day of fire across NSW
A firefighter battles against the blazes in Balmoral as NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian placed the state into a state of emergency for the next seven days
A home is claimed by the Green Wattle Creek Fire at Buxton and NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian warned conditions on Saturday could lead to further devestation
A wall of smoke and fire confronts a member of the Rural Fire Service at Green Wattle in the Blue Mountains
The enormity of the 415,000 hectare bushfire which is burning out of control in the Blue Mountains can be seen in the background
A bushfire burns along the Old Hume Highway near Tahmoor – one of several towns where residents have been told to leave
Conditions are not expected to ease until late on Thursday night, before another day of danger on Friday and worsening conditions of 42C on Saturday.
Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told media the fire was growing at such a rapid rate that it was currently hard to get exact details on properties lost.
‘I suspect we’re probably talking in the vicinity of dozens. What that is in terms of homes, sheds, facilities, I just simply don’t have that detail at this stage,’ he said.
The Gospers Mountain fire, which is ravaging the Wollemi National Park, could meet the Green Wattle Creek blaze as New South Wales battles temperatures scaling above 40C on Thursday
Up to 40 homes have been lost and several firefighters rushed to hospital suffering severe burns
Bushland in Balmoral was smouldering by Thursday evening after the bushfire ripped through the region 150km south-west of Sydney
‘It’s too fast and unfolding as we speak.’
The devestating bushfires comes as Queensland’s Fire and Emergency Service warned they could not risk sending their firefighters interstate.
More than 55 fires across the state are still burning and firefighters continue to strengthen containment lines as they brace for potentially dangerous conditions from tomorrow into the weekend.
A firefighter wets down the roof of a property at Tahmoor as the enormous blaze approaches
‘We just do not have the capacity to send people to help at the moment,’ a Queensland Fire and Emergency Service spokesman said.
‘In fact, we may have to seek help from other states if conditions worsen in Queensland.’
Conditions are also worsening at Currowan, on the NSW South Coast, where at 3pm a fire was upgraded to watch and act stage.
Balmoral, 150 kilometres south of Sydney, has been one of the worst hit towns in Thursday fires
Earlier on Thursday, Ms Berejiklian declared a state of emergency, as temperatures in Sydney’s far west hit 45C.
There are concerns the Gospers Mountain fire, ravaging the northern end of the Blue Mountains National Park, could meet the Green Wattle Creek blaze to the south.
Firefighters battled in vain to stop the fire from jumping the Bells Line of Road at Berambing – which runs east to west through the national park.
An RFS member assesses the extent of the fire as he tries desperately to save a property in the NSW Blue Mountains
‘It roared over the road, destroying power lines and cutting the various Fire Brigade resources in half stuck on either side of the fire,’ The Sydney Morning Herald reported from the scene.
The Blue Mountains Line has also been closed in its outer-western stretch between Lithgow and Mount Victoria as a fire threatens the rail corridor in between the two stations at Bell.
Those in the town of Bilpin, meanwhile, are bracing for the fire to reach their homes by this evening.
An air tanker drops water on the fire at Bargo, where residents have been told its too late to leave
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service said Thursday’s horrendous conditions will be amplified by volatile winds sweeping through the area.
With central Sydney again choking in smoke, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency on Thursday morning for the next seven days.
During a press conference, she said the ‘decision to declare a state of emergency is not taken lightly.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency earlier on Thursday, ahead of what was predicted to be one of the most dangerous bushfire days in the state’s history
With dozens of properties now lost in the fire, firefighters have turned their focus to protecting humans and livestock
On a day where temperatures were forecast to hit 45C, winds in the Blue Mountains reached 100km/h
‘You only declare states of emergency when it’s absolutely necessary and on expert advice from commissioners.’
It is the second state of emergency she has declared since the start of this year’s horror bushfire season. Six people have died and more than 800 homes have been lost.
Ms Berejiklian said they weren’t expecting conditions to be as catastrophic as they were during the previous state of emergency on November 11.
Prior to the November 11 declaration, NSW had not faced a state of emergency since October 2013.
The announcement relinquishes decision making powers from the NSW government and allows Commissioner Fitzsimmons more control over his team of firefighters.
For the next seven days during the state of emergency, he has the ability to control and coordinate the allocation of government resources, close roads and evacuate residents.
A bushfire burns along the Old Hume Highway near the town of Tahmoor, south of Sydney, on Thursday afternoon
Pictured: Bushfires ravage Bells Line of Road at Mt Wilson in the Blue Mountains
Pictured: The out-of-control Green Wattle Creek bushfire burning near Braddocks Rd, Werombi, on December 5
This marks just the fifth state of emergency declared since 2006.
The floods in 2012, both in Queensland and NSW, warranted an emergency warning, as did bushfires in October 2013.
Other natural disasters, including the Black Saturday bushfires in 2009, didn’t result in an emergency warning.
At midday on Thursday, north-westerly 40kmh winds are expected to sweep the Gospers Mountain blaze in the path of the Green Wattle Creek fire.
By 2pm – when the sweltering heat is predicted to be at its worst – both fires will be pushed towards Sydney by westerly winds.
If the blazes join, already fatigued firefighters will face their toughest test yet in what has been a devastating bushfire season so far.
The Sydney Opera House is seen as commuters ride the Manly Ferry during a day of predicted hot weather in Sydney
Last week the two fires were about 25km apart, a gap which had closed to 14km by Wednesday night.
The Bureau of Meteorology’s Neil Bennett said a ‘dome’ of hot air was over the country on Thursday and Great Sydney, where the fires are raging, will hit 45C.
‘There is a significant burst of heat, grading from the coast to the Western Plains, so we would be looking at temperatures of 40C for the CBD,’ he told the ABC.
‘As we move out towards Parramatta we’re looking at 42C.
‘Once you get to the foothills out towards Penrith you’re looking at temperatures of 45C.’
The sun shines through bushfire haze next to the Sydney Opera House on Thursday morning
Passengers ride the Manly ferry during hot weather in Sydney on Thursday morning
Pictured: Plumes of smoke fill the air and linger above the Blue Mountains
An anonymous firefighter with more than two decades experience told The Daily Telegraph the Green Wattle Creek fire could have been controlled two weeks ago – but crews were moved elsewhere.
He said management told the firefighters the blaze was ‘too dangerous’, but those on the frontline thought they could have extinguished the flames.
‘The senior fire fighters like those guys are used to going into these locations, they are used to putting themselves on the line,’ he said.
The Gospers Mountain fire, burning in the Wollemi National Park area in the northern Blue Mountains, is more than 415,000 hectares in size and raging out of control
‘They didn’t think it was too dangerous. They told me they had it pretty well rounded up but they were told to leave.’
At 11.30pm on Wednesday, the huge Gospers Mountain blaze north-west of Sydney, was at Watch and Act with all other fires at the Advice alert level.
There were 96 bush or grass fires burning across NSW, with 53 not yet contained.
NSW RFS said: ‘More than 2,000 personnel are currently working overnight to slow the spread of fire before deteriorating conditions tomorrow.’
A firefighter works at the scene of the Gospers Mountain bushfire on December 15
An extreme fire danger rating was issued for the Greater Sydney, the Illawarra and Southern Ranges areas, while all other areas are rated at high, very high or severe levels.
Sydney, Adelaide and Canberra were all forecast to surpass 40C on Thursday, following the hottest Australian day on record on Tuesday.
The average national temperature climbed to 40.9C eclipsing the record of 40.3C set in January 2013.
This record could be broken again with intense heat expected across most of Australia on Thursday and Friday.
An extreme fire danger rating has been issued for the Greater Sydney, Illawarra/Shoalhaven and Southern Ranges areas, while all other areas are rated at high, very high or severe levels. ‘Any fire that starts and takes hold will threaten lives and homes,’ NSW RFS said. Pictured: Smoke from Gospers Mountain fire
‘Conditions will be dangerous due to high temperatures, strong and gusty winds and low humidity,’ the NSW RFS said ahead of Thursday with this ‘prediction’ map
Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the state would face significant bushfire risk on Thursday and Saturday with the potential for ‘exceedingly concerning’ winds to blow embers well ahead of fire fronts.
‘Not only are we going to experience very high temperatures on Thursday and Saturday but there’s the exceedingly concerning wind conditions,’ she said on Wednesday.
‘We’re going to have a number of wind fronts escalating the fuel, the fires burning, and the potential to have spot fires and embers travelling very long distances.
‘It’s going to mean very unpredictable fire conditions.’
Commissioner Fitzsimmons said fire behaviour is forecast to be ‘erratic and significant’ due to the volatile winds blowing across the state.
Premier Gladys Berejiklian warned the state would face significant bushfire risk on Thursday and Saturday with the potential for ‘exceedingly concerning’ winds to blow embers well ahead of fire fronts. Pictured: Green Wattle Creek bushfire
At midday on Thursday, northwesterly winds will sweep the Gospers Mountain blaze in the path of the Green Wattle Creek fire at windspeeds of 40km/h. By 2pm – when the sweltering heat is expected to be at its worse – both fires will be pushed towards Sydney. Pictured: Gospers Mountain fire
‘The heat will start moving through NSW on Thursday and conditions will worsen on Saturday,’ Mr Fitzsimmons told reporters.
‘We can expect the winds to be up and conditions to be at their peak very early in the morning and we’ll have high sustained fire dangers for something like 15 hours.’
A statewide total fire ban was in place from Wednesday morning through to midnight on Saturday.
Six people have died and some 768 homes have been destroyed by bushfires this fire season. Pictured: Gospers Mountain fire
The Gospers Mountain blaze (pictured) destroyed up to 20 buildings in the upper Blue Mountains on the weekend after firefighters lost control of a backburning operation and the fire jumped containment lines
Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said complacency is the biggest threat.
‘Just because you haven’t seen a fire at the end of your street, just because you can’t see smoke in your suburb, doesn’t mean that you are not at risk,’ he told reporters.
There will be 3000 firefighters working on Saturday, the minister said.
The Gospers Mountain blaze destroyed up to 20 buildings in the upper Blue Mountains on the weekend after firefighters lost control of a backburning operation and the fire jumped containment lines.