NSW fire crews to assess damage after unprecedented bushfire emergency - ABC News

Fire crews will this morning begin assessing damage to properties and get a clearer picture of the extent of injuries after NSW was hit with an unprecedented bushfire emergency.

At the peak of the crisis, 17 bushfires were burning at emergency level yesterday, with a further 50 fires burning out of control in hot, dry and windy conditions.

Eight bushfires at emergency level are still burning this morning.

The Rural Fire Service (RFS) said at least two houses were destroyed, although that number was expected to rise.

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Crews had been responding to people trapped in their homes and there were reports of both firefighters and members of the community suffering minor injuries as they battled the blazes.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the state was in "uncharted territory" as fires tore through bushland left bone-dry by the drought.

"We have never seen this many fires concurrently at emergency warning alert level," he said.

Some of the fires were so fierce they began creating their own weather systems.

Almost 1,200 firefighters and two large air tankers were deployed to fight the blazes.

Many residents across the fire grounds evacuated with whatever they could take with them, while firefighters picked up distressed pets trying to escape.

A man and a woman fire fighter sit in a fire truck. The woman has two small black dogs on her lap, and is smiling.

The worst of the state's fires stretched from Forster on the state's mid-north coast right up to Coraki, south-west of Ballina.

A blaze in the Woodford area of the Blue Mountains was also at emergency level but dropped back to watch and act.

Mr Fitzsimmons said preliminary reports and aerial vision showed "widespread" property damage across multiple fire grounds.

A building can be seen from above, engulfed in flames

He said there had been some minor injuries to firefighters who had been "caught in some precarious situations" and to community members defending their homes.

"I've also had reports of firefighters administering first aid to some members of the community as well."

At 10:00pm there were still 15 bushfires burning at emergency level and a further six burning at watch and act.

Mr Fitzsimmons said over the coming days, crews would get across the fire grounds to gain a clearer picture of the damage and extent of injuries.

Cooler weather overnight provided some relief but a southerly change that came through in the early hours of the morning was expected to make work difficult for firefighters with fires changing direction.

Mr Fitzsimmons said crews would receive a little reprieve over the weekend, but would be hit with worsening conditions on Tuesday and Wednesday.

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