Waterbombing aircraft are attacking an out-of-control fire burning in Sydney's west amid a record-breaking weekend heatwave.
A fire is burning at "watch and act" level in bushland next to Whitehaven Road at Northmead. About 20 firefighters are battling the blaze from the ground, assisted by waterbombing aircraft from above.
A fire burning at Northmead on Sunday.Credit:Nine
Emergency services were called to the site about 1pm. Rural Fire Service spokesman Greg Allan said "quite a number of properties" are in the fire's path as it burns in an easterly direction.
The cause of the fire is currently unknown, he said.
"It's important that residents further back be aware that embers could be travelling ahead of the fire-front," he said.
Waterbombing aircraft are drawing water from nearby Lake Parramatta to try and extinguish the blaze as gusty westerly winds sweep across the city.
Sydney tossed through its hottest November night on record on Saturday, with a low of just 25.3 degrees recorded at Observatory Hill before climbing again. Sydneysiders woke up to temperatures of 30 degrees on Sunday morning.
About 20 firefighters are battling to contain the blaze.Credit:Nine
At 1.30pm on Sunday another record fell when the mercury rose above 40 degrees - the first time two consecutive days of 40-plus temperatures have been recorded in November at the 160-year-old weather station.
The fire conditions have been aggravated by winds gusting above 80 kilometres per hour in the Illawarra and up to 91 kilometres per hour at Kurnell. The wind is expected to pick up in the Hunter Valley in the early afternoon.
Helen Kirkup from the Bureau of Meteorology said a severe wind warning was extended to the Sydney region shortly after 1pm.
"These severe winds have sort of sat above us most of the day but they're now moving down towards the surface," Ms Kirkup said.
Bathers take refuge from the heat at Maroubra beach on Sunday afternoon. Credit:James Alcock
By the middle of the day, 40 fires were burning in NSW, with new fires starting around Warren and Nyngan in the central west.
NSW RFS Commissioner Rob Rogers said fires were most likely to affect the western part of the state this summer, as four years of drought had given way to rain and grass fires had become a major concern.
"It's a very different season," Commissioner Rogers said.
"These grass fires are quite dangerous. You need to report them as soon as someone has seen a fire."
Emergency Services Minister David Elliott said the conditions were conducive to another bad bushfire season, with 90 per cent of the state untouched from the fires of last summer.
"We can't fall into a false sense of security," Mr Elliott said.
NSW Ambulance readied additional resources to cope with what was shaping up to be its busiest day on record on Sunday, with extra ambulance helicopters marshalled in the CBD.
Saturday was the third busiest day in the history of the service - surpassing Christmas and New Year's Day - with 3356 calls and at least 80 of them directly related to the heat.
Commissioner Dominic Morgan said he expected Sunday to be even busier.
"We anticipate that it could be NSW Ambulance's busiest day on record," Commissioner Morgan said.
Harriet Alexander is a reporter for the Herald.
Josh Dye is a news reporter with The Sydney Morning Herald.
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2020-11-29 03:59:00Z
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