'Gobsmacked': 500 firefighters battle bushfires in NSW
Two fires continue to burn out of control after more than 500 firefighters worked overnight to control dozens of fires across NSW.
Scientists were left "gobsmacked" when the blazes tore through parts of NSW during winter, leading to a total fire ban across much of the state.
On Wednesday, crews from the Rural Fire Service battled more than 80 fires across the state, with 50 uncontained.
The worst blazes were in Ulladulla and Bemboka, which burned out of control into the evening.
An RFS spokesman said the Bemboka fire was downgraded to advice level overnight, with firefighters on scene on Thursday morning mopping up the remains of the blaze.
However, two fires south of Sydney continue to burn out of control: the blaze on Croobyar Road in Mount Kingiman, near Ulladulla; and a fire at West Cambewarra Road in North Nowra.
The spokesman said 565 firefighters in 212 trucks worked overnight on 79 bush and grass fires, and easing conditions helped them reduce the number of uncontained blazes from 50 to 32.
Weather conditions across Sydney and the southern parts of the state are expected to be cooler and less windy on Thursday, the RFS spokesman said, with temperatures to reach a high of 21 degrees in the city and 19 in Wollongong.
The spokesman said the focus for fire crews will be northern parts of NSW, with winds of up to 65km/h and temperatures in the mid to high 20s making conditions similar to what firefighters faced in the south of the state on Wednesday.
Environmental change academic David Bowman said global warming meant the northern and southern hemisphere fire seasons were overlapping, which was stretching global firefighting resources.
"We're seeing something which is unusual in the extreme," he said.
"It's worrying, it's mind-bending.
"We've got the largest fire complex burning in San Francisco and fires burning in the Glacier National Park on the Canadian border, which we've just sent crews to, and now we have this extreme weather fanning NSW fires in winter."
Bushfire safety researcher Jim McLennan said he was "gobsmacked" to see so many fires in winter.
Proactive fire prevention had suffered a lack of government funding, the La Trobe University researcher said.
"Cash-strapped local governments not mitigating risk can create a real problem," he said.
'Uncharted territory'
On Wednesday, RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said firefighters were worried the milder conditions would not last long.
"We are concerned about a return to these gusty conditions on Saturday," he said.
A total fire ban was declared for Sydney, the Illawarra and Hunter regions on Wednesday - the earliest total fire ban declaration in 10 years, the RFS said.
The whole of NSW was declared to be in drought earlier this month, and Mr Rogers said while fires in August were not uncommon the lack of rain was a major issue.
"It will take a lot of rainfall to make up for that moisture deficit," he said, adding that without a decent spring rainfall we would be "entering uncharted territory".
"It's certainly extremely dry," Mr Rogers said. "It's three months since the end of the last fire season and now we're back into it again."
-with AAP