NSW bushfires: Firefighters battle 70 blazes across state, twelve homes lost in Koolewong, Central Coast

Firefighters in New South Wales continue their battle on Sunday after a harrowing day of bushfires, with emergency crews assessing widespread damage and providing relief to affected communities.

Across the state, more than 70 bush and grass fires are still burning, with 20 still uncontained. Among the hardest-hit areas is Koolewong on the Central Coast, where an out-of-control blaze destroyed at least 12 homes on Saturday.

NSW Premier Chris Minns praised families in the fire-ravaged coastal suburb for acting swiftly and safely.

“Their houses are gone. Their belongings have gone. The Christmas presents that they bought in the run-up to the 25th have been destroyed,” he said at a press conference on Sunday morning.

“And one of the things that several of those families told me is that they were prepared, as difficult and as horrible and as unexpected as the last 12 hours have been, they were prepared for this to happen, and they were able to get as much as they possibly could in the car and evacuate in a short space of time.

“As a result of their preparedness and the hard work and dedication of the RFS and NSW Police... we haven’t lost any lives.”

At the peak of the blaze, over 250 firefighters, more than 50 fire trucks and nine aircraft were on the scene, extinguishing flames.

Mr Minns thanked crews for their tireless efforts, saying the damage could have been far worse.

“Just to put it in perspective, the fire embers jumped a stretch of water over a kilometre long,” he told ABC TV on Sunday.

“This was a fast-moving very dangerous fire in a residential area.”

Conditions remain volatile as a southerly change brings gusty winds and potential lightning strikes, raising concern for fire crews and sparking fears that more homes could be lost.

“We’ve still got concerns in the Koolewong area at the moment for fire activity as the southerly change comes through,” RFS Commissioner Trent Curtain said.

“At the moment, we’re seeing winds about 40 kilometres an our, with gusts higher than 40 kilometres an hour.

“We still have a watch and act warning in place, so people need to be very careful in that area, monitor conditions and monitor the Hazards Near Me app to make sure that they stay informed about dangerous conditions.”

Earlier, Senior Meteorologist from the Bureau of Meteorology, Dean Narramore, said the weather shift would bring mixed conditions.

“Unfortunately for our fires around at least the Central Coast, it looks like most of that rain is now shifting north,” he told Weekend Sunrise.

Mr Narramore said there is a “bit more hope” for those in the Mid North Coast, where four more homes were lost in the town of Bulahdelah, who could likely see some showers on Sunday afternoon.

Relief rolled-out

Damage assessment teams were on the ground on Sunday, along with investigators from NSW Police and the RFS to determine the cause of the blaze.

Federal and state disaster assistance funding has been activated for Central Coast, Mid Coast, Upper Hunter, Muswellbrook, Warrumbungle and Dubbo.

The declarations activate support measures for residents, businesses, primary producers and councils.

“Whilst we continue to contain the fires that have impacted communities across NSW, our priority is also to support those people whose homes and livelihoods have been impacted,” NSW Recovery Minister Janelle Saffin said.

Koolewong will remain a priority for fire crews despite warnings being downgraded to watch and act, although the fire has moved towards the Woy Woy Bay area.

An uncontained bushfire in Redhead, south of Newcastle, prompted an emergency warning early on Sunday

Residents were told it was too late to leave and urged to seek shelter, before the warning was downgraded to watch and act.

Temperatures are expected to ease from Sunday for most of NSW and southern Australia, though the heat will build across northern Australia and WA and returning to much of the country early in the week.

Elsewhere, more than a dozen homes and shacks, outbuildings and cars were damaged and two firefighters were injured fighting an out-of-control fire at Dolphin Sands on Tasmania’s east coast on Friday.

The fire has since been contained, although it’s not safe for residents to return as access to the area remains dangerous.

Victorians will face milder temperatures on Sunday after a cold front and thunderstorms followed hot, dry and windy weather on Friday.

- With AAP