The NSW Rural Fire Service is battling two out-of-control blazes, one in the Budawang National Park and another in north Nowra, where outbuildings have been destroyed.
Emergency warnings have been issued for both bushfires, which are threatening homes. Some people have been told it is “too late to leave”.
One fire, near Croobyar Road at Mount Kingiman, has burnt about 100 hectares and is being fanned by strong winds and dry conditions.
Meanwhile, NSW RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said crews were battling to save homes at north Nowra.
“It’s right on them now,” he said.
“Our advice — and the images show — it’s close to urban areas there.”
‘Too late to leave’
The NSW RFS said residents in the area of Woodstock, near Ulladulla, were advised to seek shelter in a solid structure as the fire approaches. It is too late to leave.
Residents in Burrill Lake, Kings Point and south of Ulladulla who are not prepared or plan to leave, should head north to central Ulladulla.
The fire has been at emergency level since about 8.00am and an evacuation centre has already been set up at the Ulladulla Civic Centre.
Hundreds of residents have been evacuated and there are currently 40 crews on the ground and aviation support including a helicopter flying overhead to help battle the blaze.
The NSW RFS said emergency alert messages had been sent to residents in the area, however, Kate Melzer, who lives in the danger zone, said she “had not been told anything”.
“I’m looking out my window and half of the sky is blue and then there’s a definite line in the sky and to the left it’s very orange, the sun is very filtered, there’s choppers in the sky, there’s quite thick smoke and it’s very windy,” she said.
“We haven’t been told anything but there’s obviously something going on. It’s kind of scary.”
Embers and ash have started blowing over Burrill Lake and the centre of Ulladulla.
Police scramble over fences
Meanwhile, near Nowra, dozens of fire trucks line streets as people covered their faces in a bid to escape the plumes of smoke that were rising above homes.
Authorities clambered over fences in a bid to alert local residents about the danger.
That blaze is burning between West Cambrewarra Rd and the Princes Highway in north Nowra.
The fire is moving in an easterly direction toward the Princes Highway — which is closed in both directions — and Bomaderry.
Strong winds are affecting the region, with gusts of up to 104 kilometres recorded in Nowra earlier, and the Bureau of Meteorology has warned these will get worse.
Conditions in NSW are dry — last week 100 per cent of the state was declared either “in drought” or “drought affected”.
There is a total fire ban in place for Sydney, Illawarra and the Hunter Valley.
