A “mega blaze” raging across a 60km front north-west of Sydney cannot currently be put out, Australian fire officials have warned.
The fire across almost 300,000 hectares is just an hour’s drive from the nation’s most-populous city.
Fires have also raged across Queensland, Victoria, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania.
People who cannot defend their property from approaching fires have been told they should leave immediately.
Since October, bushfires have killed six people and destroyed more than 700 homes across Australia.
The severity of the blazes so early in the fire season has caused alarm, and prompted calls for greater action to tackle climate change.
Several fires have combined to form the Gospers Mountain mega blaze, which is more than 283,000 ha in size.
