The fire danger rating for an area of the NSW Far South Coast has been upgraded to catastrophic as the area endures a record-breaking September heatwave.
Residents have been warned to avoid high-fire risk areas today, such as parks and bushland, as a total fire ban remains in place.
“Due to stronger than forecast winds along the Far South Coast, Catastrophic fire danger is expected this afternoon,” NSW Rural Fire Service said in a tweet.
Meanwhile, the Rural Fire Service has posted that despite total fire bans for Greater Sydney and the Far South Coast today, 61 fires were burning around NSW as of 9am.
Of those, 13 are uncontained.
The RFS said more than 500 firefighters were battling the blazes.
Up-to-date information and alerts are available on the RFS website.
The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast Sydney to reach a maximum of 34 degrees today.
Weatherzone’s Ben Domensino posted on X, formerly Twitter, that the same temperature was forecast for tomorrow.
“In data dating back to 1859, the city has only reached 34ºC in September on three occasions (2000, 1980 and 1965),” he wrote.
“This would be its first pair of 34ºC days on record for September.”
A total of 21 across the South Coast and Central West have closed for today due to the fire danger rating lifting to extreme.
The NSW Education Department announced the closures yesterday, saying the decision was made in consultation with the NSW Rural Fire Service.
It came after a total fire ban was issued for Greater Sydney and the Far South Coast.
This is the first time in nearly three years the whole of Sydney has been under a total fire ban, with the mercury expected to soar to 33 degrees in the CBD and 35 in the west.
Below is a list of the 21 schools that are closed today.
- Batemans Bay Public School
- Bega Valley Public School
- Bemboka Public School
- Bermagui Public School
- Bodalla Public School
- Bournda Environmental Education Centre
- Broulee Public School
- Candelo Public School
- Central Tilba Public School
- Cobargo Public School
- Mogo Public School
- Narooma High School
- Pambula Public School
- Parkes Public School
- Quaama Public School
- Sunshine Bay Public School
- Tanja Public School
- Tathra Public School
- Towamba Public School
- Wolumla Public School
- Wyndham Public School
Meanwhile Queensland is also on high alert ahead of temperatures soaring later in the week.
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A heightened fire risk is anticipated tomorrow and Thursday, with temperatures across the state set to soar about 10 degrees above the monthly average.
A fire at Beerwah on the Sunshine Coast is now contained after it burned through 172 hectares.
