Travel warnings issued as blazes ravage Australia

Catastrophic fire warnings are in place across the Australian state of New South Wales (NSW), where firefighters are tackling more than 100 blazes.

Authorities have urged Christmas travellers to delay their journeys as conditions threaten to intensify the bushfire crisis.

A combination of temperatures above 40C, low humidity and strong winds have worsened the struggle for the almost 10,000 emergency personnel mobilised to deal with the bushfires in NSW.

Horses in a paddock as the Gospers Mountain Fire impacts a property at Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney, New South Wales (NSW. EPA-EFE/DAN HIMBRECHTS

The Gospers Mountain Fire impacts a property, in Bilpin, in the Blue Mountains, west of Sydney. EPA-EFE/DAN HIMBRECHTS

Two volunteer firefighters died on Thursday as they were tackling a large blaze near Sydney. Fires have also been ravaging the states of Victoria and South Australia, where two civilians died on Friday.

Rising temperatures and strong winds are expected to worsen fires across three states on Saturday.

Three blazes around Sydney are burning at emergency level.

“We are asking everybody not to travel on roads anywhere near the vicinity of an active fire unless you absolutely have to,” Gladys Berejiklian, premier of NSW, said at a news conference.

Via The Australian