Emergency warnings are in place for large parts of NSW, with almost 100 separate fires burning as of Friday afternoon.
Of those, 14 fires are considered to be “very dangerous” by the NSW Rural Fire Service.
“If you are near these fires, your life is at risk and you need to take action to protect your life,” the RFS said.
Emergency warnings are in place for Tenterfield, Armidale, Clarence Valley, Port Macquarie, Nambucca, Kempsey and a number of Mid-Coast areas.
“A number of fires in the north coast and northern NSW areas are becoming more intense – and more dangerous,” the RFS said.
“Some are creating their own weather conditions and pyrocumulous clouds are developing. These are extremely dangerous. Do not be caught in the open.”
Port Macquarie resident Kelly Crossingham shared a video of a red sky obscured by smoke.
“It is like the apocalypse out there!” she said, explaining they’d made a last-minute decision to head home and save their bird.
“We got out again just before they closed all roads.”
Port Macquarie’s CBD was glowing red, with resident Cherie Lynette telling PEDESTRIAN.TV it “feels like a dystopian novel”.
“The smoke is very pungent and makes it really difficult to breathe, lots of locals are shutting up their houses and staying inside to avoid it,” Lynette said.
“The firies are doing their absolute best out there right now and everyone is singing their praises. It’s been a rough couple of days out here.”
This is what Port Macquarie’s CBD looked like at 4.30pm today (pics taken by Kurt Hurley). His partner Cherie told me it “feels like a dystopian novel”. @pedestriandaily pic.twitter.com/rfowxvWcdc
— Alex Bruce-Smith (@alexbrucesmith) November 8, 2019
And the bowls rolls on in Port Macquarie #bushfires @9NewsSyd @Ninecomau pic.twitter.com/Hxm1u8uQYl
— Marc Dodd (@marcdodd) November 8, 2019
Mid Coast mayor David West said the area was “getting hammered” by fire, with dry brush, lack of air moisture, and high winds all fanning the flames.
“It’s a horrible, horrible sight,” he told the ABC.
“The fire from Hillville has caused the evacuation of my daughter and her two children from their brand new home. It doesn’t seem that we as human beings have anything we can throw at this beast.”
Keep an eye on the fires and danger warnings on the RFS website.
