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RESIDENTS in parts of NSW could be forced to leave their homes tonight with a ‘catastrophic’ fire declaration expected amid worsening fire conditions never seen before in NSW tomorrow.
While temperatures in Sydney are expected to drop tomorrow, strong winds combined with low humidity will create ideal fire conditions.
It will be the first time since 2013 a catastrophic fire rating will have been declared but the extreme and catastrophic fire danger ratings is something never seen before in NSW, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said.
Communities at risk will include those in the Greater Hunter, Upper Central West Plains, North Western, Central Ranges and parts of the North Coast.
The rest of the state is expected to face severe to extreme fire danger conditions. There are currently 49 fires burning, with 17 classed as out of control.
The mercury is expected to surge past 40C in more than 50 of the state’s city’s and towns on this afternoon but Mr Fitzsimmons said the real test lay ahead.
Citing Australia’s worst bushfire disaster, the Black Saturday blazes which claimed 173 lives in February 2009, Mr Fitzsimmon said “the forecast indices (for Sunday) are greater than those faced by Victoria at the time”.
“The risk is real,” Mr Fitzsimmons said.
”It is the most dangerous of conditions. Fires will start easily and spread very quickly.
“This is as bad as it gets in these circumstances. it is simply not a safe environment.”
Catastrophic is the highest level of bush fire danger, with the NSW RFS advising residents to consider leaving early if in an affected area.
Mr Fitzsimmons urged people to prepare early and move away from the danger zones because they could not guarantee they will get to them in time as the conditions would make the fires spread quickly.
The Bureau of Meteorology said very hot conditions associated with the mass of air and combined and fresh westerly winds over the southern half of the state meant severe fire danger throughout Saturday for the Central and Southern ranges, Lower Central West and Hunter districts.
The NSW RFS suggests residents to relocate to a major town during the hottest and driest part of the day “well away from bushland or open paddocks”.
This comes as temperatures reached more than 44C degrees in some parts of outer Sydney before midday in what is expected to be the hottest February day on record.
Ivanhoe Airport recorded the highest temperature in the state this morning, peaking at 45 degrees with a projected forecast of 47 degrees later today.
West Wyalong was next hottest, reaching 44 degrees while Forbes, Condobolin, Walgett, Cooma, Bathurst and Mudgee exceeding 43 degrees.
In Sydney, Horsley Park clocked 32.9C, Badgerys Creek is 33.6C, Richmond is 34.1C, and Sydney Airport is already 32.7C.
The Australian Market Energy Operator said NSW faced a possible lack of power supply Saturday afternoon, with the risk increasing into the evening. AGL said it would cut back on electricity use at its Tomago Aluminium Smelter in Newcastle, which uses about 10 per cent of the state’s power.
Residents across NSW were also advised to be ‘conservative’ with energy usage today, particularly between the hours of 4pm and 7pm when the risk of blackouts are at their highest.
However a spokeswoman for the Australian Energy Market Operator said the risk of power outages were still relatively small.
“We don’t expect blackouts but in saying that we still advise people to be very conservative with their power usage where possible,” she said.
The record-breaking heatwave maxed out power supplies yesterday, prompting authorities to cancel major sporting events across NSW — including stopping champion mare Winx from racing at Randwick and all A-Grade cricket matches — as fears mount about the impact of the stifling heatwave.
It is now officially our hottest summer on record, the savage heat prompting the state government to take the extraordinary step of asking people to turn off unnecessary power, including televisions, and turn down their airconditioners.
But NSW managed to avoid the feared rolling blackouts, although outages were reported in Sydney’s inner west, the northern beaches and parts of the Central Coast.
A total of 11,000 homes and businesses were left without power across Strathfield and Burwood at about 5pm after reports of lines down, although it was not believed to have been caused by the heat.
Early today, 3700 residents were left without power during a blackout in the Ryde and Marsfield areas.
Racing NSW took the unprecedented step of postponing racing at Royal Randwick, as well as other race meets around the state today.
Cricket, soccer and rugby league trials were also cancelled or postponed — the first time this has ever occurred because of the heat.
During yesterday’s scorcher, construction sites across the state were shut down and schoolchildren were kept inside during breaks.
Energy giant AGL said several of its big industrial users agreed to have their power cut to free up supply for residential areas, schools, shopping centres and businesses.
It also cut power to the massive Tomago aluminium smelter near Newcastle, which uses a staggering 12 per cent of the state’s supply.
At the smelter, workers donned special suits to work in 80C heat yesterday afternoon to try to prevent damage to the plant’s equipment.
Further rolling blackouts may still hit NSW this weekend, following similar power outages in South Australia.
Energy providers said they could have as little as 15 minutes notice from TransGrid — the operator of the state’s electricity transmission — before they would have to start shutting down regions as part of a “load shedding” operation.
A spokesman from Ausgrid said the provider would avoid areas with “critical infrastructure” such as hospitals or major shopping centres.
He said their plan would be to cut power for a maximum of two hours at one particular area before it was restored.