A total fire ban is in place across NSW as temperatures are predicted to soar into the 40s.
Firefighters face the Dean's Gap fire on a property near Wandandian, south of Nowra in NSW. Picture: Dan Himbrechts Source: The Australian
FIREFIGHTERS are hoping a cool change will bring reprieve across NSW as they try to contain fires with 100km perimeters.
Temperatures hit 40C in the Upper Hunter today, as 94 fires burn across the state, 12 of which are uncontained.
An emergency warning has been downgraded for a fire burning at Yarrabin in NSW.
A cool change has come through the fire ground prompting the downgrade.
The RFS issued the warning just before 4.30pm (AEDT) for the Kybeyan Valley blaze, which is burning approximately 20km east of Cooma.
About 15 properties were under threat in the areas of Countegany and Kybeyan, the RFS said.
''People in these areas may experience fire, smoke and embers,'' an RFS spokesman said earlier.
''People should shelter in place as the fire impacts property,'' he said, adding that it was too late for people to leave.
The Yarrabin fire is moving away from Cooma in an easterly direction.
Nearly 100 firefighters are working to contain the fire 20km west of Cooma
A southerly change may see smoke from the Yarrabin fire over Cooma from 6pm.
Also of concern are "very sizeable fires" at Yass and Deans Gap, RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said.
Sydney airport recorded a maximum temperature of 31C before dropping to 25C by midday, while western Sydney hovered around the 29-30C mark, forecaster Julie Evans said.
"The cool change arrived in the Illawarra and Sydney a little earlier than expected," Ms Evans said.
"The cloud cover would have made a big contribution to it. We could actually expect a few showers this afternoon."
Elsewhere inland, temperatures were continuing to soar, with Bourke and Tibooburra still expected to be the hottest parts of the state at 47C.
Records could also be broken at Orange, Bathurst and Katoomba.
Orange is predicted to hit 38C, with the current record at 37.9C.
Bathurst could smash its current record of 40.1C, while Katoomba is predicted to reach 37C.
The current record there is 37.6C.
"These are all in the ballpark (to break records)," Ms Evans said.
More NSW updates from The Daily Telegraph here.
Six people have been treated for heat exposure across NSW, as temperatures push above 45C in some parts of the state.
NSW Ambulance said five women aged between 38 and 93 and a 12-year-old girl were treated by paramedics todday, with four of them taken to hospital.
Meanwhile a 85-year-old male man from Charlestown near Newcastle was also taken to hospital.
''This would be in addition to other six heat-related call-outs for reasons such as dizziness, nausea and vomiting,'' a NSW Ambulance spokeswoman said in a statement.
The temperature changes come after a blaze in Cooma that has destroyed 9810 hectares was upgraded to a watch and act, with the region's fire danger listed as extreme, while at Deans Gap in Shoalhaven almost 8500 hectares have been burnt through.
Firefighters are also still working on a blaze near Yass, which has a 100km perimeter and has decimated almost 14,000 hectares of scrub and grass.
"The big danger is those fires making a run and a number of fires starting," Mr Rogers said.
On some good news Sydneysiders are unlikely to see the tops of around 40C previously forecast, as a southerly change pushed through the southern coastal areas just before noon (AEDT), RFS spokesman Anthony Clark said.
However, those in Sydney's west will have to wait until the afternoon for the cool breeze, while in western NSW the change is unlikely to hit until after 6pm.
Gusts of up to 35km are expected to be ushered in with the change, except in northern NSW where 60km winds are predicted.
The RFS said they were also watching lightning, which has been reported in Sydney's west, Tamworth and around the Hawkesbury.
"We have got some of our helicopter crews still based in Sydney ... because of the lightning," Mr Clark told reporters.
Deputy Commissioner Rogers said the fires had been "heartbreaking" for some farmers across NSW, particularly in Yass, with reports of 10,000 stock losses.
"It's pretty tragic, the farmers have lost machinery and fencing," he said.
"It's either flooding or it's drought or it's fire.
"Our sympathy goes out to them."
A total fire ban across the state has been extended for a further 24 hours through Saturday, with temperatures predicted to soar into the 40s again in many parts of NSW.
"We've got a grip on most of these fires and are doing some burning overnight to tie these fires in, but will be tested by the wind and weather conditions."
The spokesman said strong westerly winds heightened the bushfire risk for Saturday.
He said the fires that would cause the most concern were the Deans Gap fire in the Shoalhaven, the Cobbler Road fire near Yass and the Yarrabin fire in the Cooma-Monaro region.
More than 230 firefighters were on Friday night working to contain the Yarrabin fire, which has now burnt through more than 9800 hectares of bush and grass.
Firefighters were working to strengthen containment lines around these fires before things heated up Saturday, the RFS advised.
"We're doing that in the hope the fires stay in their box," the spokesman said.
In Melbourne, two fires in Melbourne's north have been contained after fears that properties would be threatened.
A State Control Centre spokeswoman said grass fires in the outer suburbs of Craigieburn and Yuroke had been declared safe.
The fire in Craigieburn started at 1.37pm.
In Tasmania, firefighters have issued a watch and act alert as a bushfire between Forcett and the Tasman Peninsula grows in strength.
Authorities are trying to contain the fire before the next forecast high fire danger day on Thursday.
The Tasmanian Fire Service (TFS) issued the watch and act message today for communities near the blaze, noting there had been an increase in activity on the blaze boundary in the Kellevie, Bream Creek and Marion Bay areas.
Residents south of Eaglehawk Neck along Blow Hole Road to Doo Town were also advised to remain vigilant but there was no immediate threat to those communities.
TFS senior station officer Phil Douglas said the fire had grown to cover 23,600 hectares, and fire crews were back burning to contain the blaze.
''It's not growing at a rapid rate at the moment but it is increasing every day,'' he told AAP.
''There are areas that are very difficult to access so the only way we can stop this fire is to actually burn those fuels out before the main fire gets there.''
Mr Douglas said the combination of temperatures of around 26 to 28 degrees today combined with strengthening west to southwesterly winds meant the fire could reach some towns.
''It does have the potential to possibly impact on some communities if it gets away,'' he said.
''So what we're asking people to do is really just keep an eye on what's going on so that's why it remains a watch and act (message).''
He said the next high fire danger day in Tasmania was likely to be on Thursday, with temperatures of around 32 degrees expected.
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