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Enabling Cookies in Mobile Safari (iPhone, iPad)</s></s>In what have been described as the worst conditions for fire in the state's history, rural firefighters in the Australian state of New South Wales on Sunday were battling over 80 out-of-control bushfires.

Temperatures in the north of the state soared above 40 degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), combining with strong winds and dry conditions to create what the Rural Fire Service said are catastrophic conditions.

Five of those fires included emergency warnings for local residents. The biggest blaze has been near the town of Dunedoo in the central west of the state, 217 miles (350kms) northwest of Sydney.</s>Firefighters warn that Australia’s New South Wales region faces “catastrophic” fire conditions Sunday as strong winds push hot air across a region already parched by a heat wave.

Residents are urged to avoid or leave bushfire-prone areas.

“It’s not another summer’s day. It’s not another bad fire weather day. This is as bad as it gets,” Rural Fire Services Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said Saturday during a news conference.

“It is simply not a safe environment, which is why we’re making it very clear to people that the only safe place to be is not in at-risk areas,” he said.

There are 49 fires now burning across New South Wales, including 17 that are not contained, Fitzsimmons said. About 300 firefighters are actively fighting blazes, and thousands more are on standby, he said.

“We need to be clear that in catastrophic conditions, it is the most dangerous of conditions. Fires will start early, and they will spread very quickly,” Fitzsimmons said.

He warned that the fire service does not have the resources to knock on every door to warn residents if fires spread quickly, but he said officials would do their best to save lives and homes.

The “catastrophic” fire danger conditions are forecast for the Greater Hunter, Central Ranges and North Western areas, the Australian Bureau of Meteorology said. Half a dozen other areas face “extreme” and “severe” fire danger warnings for Sunday.

A “catastrophic” warning carries the risk of significant loss of life and the destruction of many homes, according to the NSW Rural Fire Service.

The Bureau of Meteorology warned in a news release Saturday that New South Wales “could experience its hottest February day on record tomorrow, as extreme heat wave conditions peak across the state.”

The temperature in one Sydney suburb, Penrith, was forecast to reach 45 degrees Celsius (113 degrees Fahrenheit) on Saturday, it said.

A total fire ban is in place across the whole state for the weekend, as authorities seek to prevent new bushfires igniting. Those could prove extremely difficult to control, given the conditions.

Part of the problem is an approaching weather front to the south that is dragging a buildup of hot air from the interior of the continent down across New South Wales, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

It comes on the heels of a sustained heat wave. January was the hottest month on record for Sydney since 1859, the bureau said, and some places in the state are breaking records for the number of consecutive days at high temperatures.

At the same time, record rainfall in New South Wales last winter led to high plant growth, providing ample fuel for bushfires to spread.

The conditions may spark fears of a repeat of “Black Saturday” in 2009, when soaring temperatures and high winds fanned the flames of a series of bushfires across the state of Victoria. Those fires left 173 people dead, injured 500 more and destroyed thousands of homes.

Some relief from the extreme heat in New South Wales is expected Monday, the Bureau of Meteorology said.</s>An emergency warning has been issued for a huge bushfire spreading in New South Wales during an extreme heatwave.

The large blaze is burning east of Dunedoo in Central West New South Wales, the Rural Fire Service said.

"People in the area of Urabry and Turill should leave now towards Cassilis if the path is clear," the latest update reads.

The fire is burning in catastrophic conditions, and is spreading quickly, making it difficult for firefighters to contain, the Fire Service advised.

People in the area are being sent emergency alert telephone messages from the Fire Service.

Earlier today firefighters were preparing for catastrophic fire conditions across NSW as weather forecasts suggested the region was set to break even more temperature records would be broken in southern Queensland.

"These are unprecedented conditions not only in NSW but Australia, and worse than the forecast for Black Saturday in Victoria," said NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons at a briefing today.

Black Saturday was the day of the 2009 Victorian bushfires, the most devastating fires in Australian history.

As of about 1pm today over 1000 firefighters were battling 76 bushfires across NSW, 26 of which were not contained.</s>Rural areas of Australia’s New South Wales state have been evacuated as wildfires rage across the state, threatening homes and closing roads.

Some 97 fires were burning across the state, with 37 uncontained, the Rural Fire Service said.</s>Firefighters warn that Australia's New South Wales region faces "catastrophic" fire conditions Sunday as strong winds push hot air across a region already parched by a heat wave. "It's not another summer's day.

Start the conversation, or Read more at WOI.</s>SYDNEY -- Eastern Australia endured severe "off the scale" fire conditions Sunday amid a record-breaking heatwave that sparked dire warnings from authorities.

While bushfires are common in Australia's arid summer, climate change has pushed up land and sea temperatures and led to more extremely hot days and severe fire seasons.

"The conditions for Sunday are the worst possible conditions when it comes to fire danger ratings," New South Wales (NSW) state Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters Friday.

"They are catastrophic, they are labelled catastrophic for a reason, they are rare, they are infrequent, and to put it simply, they are off the old conventional scale.

"It's not another summer's day. It's not another bad fire weather day. This is as bad as it gets in these circumstances."

Fitzsimmons said Sunday afternoon several homes may have been lost in bushfires across the state.

Some 2,500 firefighters were battling more than 80 blazes in NSW, with 32 "not contained," the Rural Fire Service said.

The organization added that a person from a fire at Boggabri, a small town in northwestern New South Wales some 470 kilometers from Sydney, was flown to the harbor city after suffering burns.

Further north in Queensland, the Bureau of Meteorology said Sunday numerous February temperature records were being broken across the state as the mercury soared above 40 degrees Celsius.

Temperature records were also breached across New South Wales on Saturday, the weather bureau said.

Cooler conditions were forecast to come through later Sunday.

Australia has warmed by approximately 1 C since 1910, according to the biannual State of the Climate report from the Bureau of Meteorology and national science body CSIRO released in October.

The number of days each year that post temperatures of more than 35 C was increasing in recent decades except in northern Australia, the report said.

Meanwhile, rainfall has reduced by 19 percent between May to July in southwestern Australia since 1970.

"Black Saturday," the worst firestorm in recent years, devastated the southern state of Victoria in 2009, razing thousands of homes and killing 173 people.</s>New South Wales endures severe off-the-scale' blaze amid a record-breaking heatwave that has sparked dire warnings.

Australian authorities ordered the evacuation of some rural areas of New South Wales as bushfires, fanned by extreme heat and strong winds, raged across the state.

By Sunday afternoon, emergency warnings were issued for five rural areas. People were told to evacuate if they could, or seek shelter and avoid bush or grassland where it was too late to leave.

More than 2,000 firefighters, many of them volunteers, battled 86 fires across the state, with 38 of them still largely out of control.

A heatwave saw temperatures hit record highs in some parts of the state, creating conditions that officials said were worse than those preceding Victoria's 2009 "Black Saturday" fires, Australia's worst bush fire event that killed 173 people.

"This is the worst day we have seen in the history of New South Wales when it comes to fire danger ratings and fire conditions," Shane Fitzsimmons, the state's rural fire chief, told reporters.

Fitzsimmons said there were unconfirmed reports of homes, farm sheds and machinery being destroyed by fast-moving fires breaking containment lines.

Temperatures climbed above 45 degrees Celsius in some parts. Dry and hot northwesterly winds coming from Australia's desert centre, some up to 75 kilometres an hour, were fanning the bushfires.

There were no reports of injuries, but some firefighters were suffering from heat-related issues.

A 13-year-old boy and a 40-year-old man were charged on Sunday with allegedly starting fires.

A southerly wind change associated with a cold front was forecast to arrive by early evening, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Fitzsimmons said the front would eventually offer relief, but would create volatile conditions as it met the northwesterly flow.

Since Friday, heatwave conditions have caused the cancellation of major sporting events and put pressure on the electricity grid.

A paper mill, a water treatment operations centre and Australia's largest aluminum smelter, Tomago, were among businesses forced to halt operations to conserve energy on Friday.</s>NSW weather: Residents in catastrophic bushfire areas told to leave, emergency warning for Leadville

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (RFS) says people who live in bushland areas with catastrophic fire conditions need to leave their homes as blazes can become uncontrollable in minutes.

A fire that has burned almost 2,000 hectares of bush since yesterday at Leadville near Dunedoo, east of Dubbo, has been escalated to an emergency alert by the RFS:

That fire has closed down the Golden Highway between Vinegaroy Road and Black Stump Way, and is expected to be closed for most of the day, the RFS said.

Local resident Sara Fergusson has evacuated a property 25 kilometres east of Dunedoo and said the fire suddenly flared up.

"Now I can't see the highway at all or anything beyond."

More than 1,000 RFS firefighters are battling 76 fires across the state, with 26 of those not yet contained.

Six fires on the state's mid north coast and in the central west are under watch and act alert levels at Narromine, Myall River, Terreel, Wherrol Flat, Giro and Beechwood.

The Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said fires that started under today's conditions were the most dangerous.

"Fires that start under these conditions start easily, they take hold easily and they spread very quickly," he said.

"If we can't get on top of these fires in the first few minutes and they take hold we know we won't be able to put them out.

There are no official evacuations in place, however, earlier today the RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers warned people in catastrophic fire rating areas it might be better to leave now.

"There's no directed evacuation but I know that there are definitely people who have moved out of the fire affected areas, particularly where they didn't feel safe," he said.

"Some people will relocate for the day today … it's a good day to go to the beach, go to the movies, just move away from the bushfire affected areas so that you don't place yourself in harm's way.

"If it all calms down by the end of the day, then go back home and everything is good, but at least we know that people are safe."

Worst fire conditions NSW has ever had

Temperatures soared across NSW on Sunday morning, with Walgett in the state's north hitting 46.2 degrees Celsius.

Temperatures in Mungindi (44C), Moree (44.4C), Bourke (44.6C) and Dubbo (41.9C) are still rising.

At lunchtime Sydney was at 30.8C and Richmond, 34.2C.

NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons warned conditions in some parts of the state might be worse than those that preceded the Black Saturday fires.

"The conditions for Sunday are the worst possible conditions, they are catastrophic — we haven't seen this in NSW to this extent ever," Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.

"It's not another summer's day. It's not another bad fire day. This is as bad as it gets."

Despite the risk, many of the fires are started by people, and police are on the look out for arsonists throughout the state.

A teenage boy, 13, was charged with arson over a grass fire at Orange in central western NSW yesterday.

Police allege the boy was seen lighting a fire before a group of teenagers fled from an industrial area yesterday afternoon.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service issues an emergency warning for a bush fire located to the east of Dunedoo in New South Wales, Australia. The warning comes amidst "unprecedented" fire conditions across the region, deemed to be worse than the conditions precipitating the 2009 Black Saturday bushfires in Victoria.