More than 60 bushfires have sparked in New South Wales in hot and windy weather over the weekend, prompting Australian authorities to warn a destructive summer lies ahead if conditions persist.
About 800 firefighters have been fighting the fires, aided by 14 water-bombing aircraft.
Flames came within metres of 30 homes at Guerilla Bay, south of Batemans Bay.
In the far southeast, a fire in the Eurobodalla area which has been burning since late August, broke containment lines, scorching more than 3,000 hectares.
A total fire ban has been declared across Sydney, the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains and the Central West including the towns of Dubbo and Parkes.
