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NSW volunteers are being sent to Victoria to support firefighting efforts and to prevent blazes from spreading across the border as the heatwave approaches its scorching weekend peak.
On Friday, a total fire ban was declared in four southern NSW and Riverina regions bordering Victoria, where there is a statewide total fire ban amid catastrophic conditions.
Residents just over the border in Victoria have been issued with an emergency warning to leave immediately as an out-of-control bushfire burns near Walwa, west of the Kosciuszko National Park.
The fire is burning in a southerly direction, but there are still concerns it and other fires could spread into NSW.
Further south, three people including a child are unaccounted for as multiple fires burn around Victoria.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Trent Curtin said volunteers were helping south of the border.
A firefighting helicopter battles the Longwood, Victoria bushfire on Thursday.Credit: State Control Centre
“We’ve sent a lot of crews into Victoria today to support them with their catastrophic conditions,” he told this masthead.
“We’ve got a lot of aircraft available to support that, so whilst we don’t expect that fire to cross the border we are prepared in the event it might.”
The Murray River that comprises much of the border between the states does help to limit the spread.
“It’s a natural break there, that fire would have to jump quite a long way, but it is possible,” Curtin said. “Under these conditions, embers can travel quite a long way.”
A sheep after the bushfire near Longwood East, Victoria.Credit: Jason South
High temperatures and strong winds are expected on Saturday, meaning there are “even further extreme predictions for fire behaviour through many parts of the state, including Sydney”.
Dozens of fires were burning around NSW on Friday morning, although none have yet risen above the advice level.
Extreme fire danger is forecast in the Greater Sydney, Illawarra/Shoalhaven, Southern Ranges, Southern Slopes and Monaro Alpine regions on Saturday.
“Those high temperatures for eastern NSW and the winds will elevate the fire dangers, reaching extreme, including across the Sydney metro [area],” weather bureau meteorologist Sarah Scully said.
The sun rises over Bossley Park on Friday morning during the Sydney heatwave.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Curtin encouraged those who have not already done so to download the Hazards Near Me app and to monitor conditions regularly amid expected high heat and strong winds.
“It’s really important that everyone’s prepared for extreme fire conditions,” he said.
Total fire bans are likely in multiple areas when the RFS makes declarations on Friday afternoon ahead of the heatwave’s peak.
Most parts of Sydney, barring Sydney Harbour and nearby Observatory Hill, had temperatures pass 30 degrees by noon on Friday as the heatwave continued to build.
A swimmer takes a dip at Parriwi Beach in Mosman on Friday during Sydney’s heatwave.Credit: Sitthixay Ditthavong
Penrith was heading for a top of 42 degrees on Friday afternoon after exceeding 41 degrees on Thursday.
Blacktown and Campbelltown were also expected to hit 40 degrees, with tops of 39 degrees at Liverpool and 38 in Parramatta.
After a run of days slow-cooking, Sydney will go into the oven on Saturday as temperatures reach as high as 42 degrees in the city and 43 degrees in the west.
The heatwave is expected to ease gradually when a south-west to southerly change brings milder temperatures on Sunday.
Penrith is forecast for a maximum of 25 degrees and it’s expected to reach 26 degrees in the city on Sunday.
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