The current wildfires have panned out as Australia’s worst ever since the Black Saturday fires in 2009, tearing through a million hectares of its east coast. More than 140 fires were burning across the state of New South Wales (NSW) and south east Queensland on Tuesday.
The fierce nature of the fires has led the country’s environment department to warn about hazardous amounts of smoke pollution entering breathing spaces.
There were over 60 active fires in Queensland, with conditions in the area expected to worsen with the arrival of strong winds and temperatures in excess of 30C (86F).
The bad weather had focused firefighters’ attention on Wednesday, aiming to prevent any further harm to the general public.
Last weekend, three people died while trying to escape fast moving fires in their cars.
It is thought that at least 170 houses have been burnt to the ground, but no further lives have been lost.
Fire officials have warned that the fires will stretch their ability to protect people.
On Sunday at 1am AEDT (2pm BST), there were 64 fires burning across New South Wales, 37 of which were yet to be tamed – this number having since increased.
At the time, 12 fires continued to burn at the Watch and Act alert level.
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Queensland has also called a state of emergency.
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service (NSW RFS) warns that homes are not designed to withstand fires ignited under catastrophic conditions.
Shane Fitzsimmons, NSW RFS commissioner, said the catastrophic rating is “off the conventional scale”.
NSW RFS has released the following advice for those living in areas under a catastrophic warning:
Avoid bushfire-prone areas. Safe areas include larger towns or cities, shopping centres or facilities away from bushland areas.
Schools in identified high-risk areas will be closed. Schools will notify affected students. Start making arrangements now.
If you are unable to leave, identify a safe location which may be nearby. This may include a Neighbourhood Safer Place.
Mr Fitzsimmons warned the worst is yet to come, as the Australian summer starts in December.
Stuart Ellis, chief executive of the Australasian Fire and Emergency Service Authorities Council, forewarned that the fires could be worse than the deadly Black Saturday blazes.
Speaking to ABC News, he said: “On Black Saturday there was a very small number of fires in Victoria, but in NSW today we already have a large number.”
The 2009 bushfires killed some 173 people and burned through approximately 1.1 million acres of land in Australia’s southern state of Victoria.