Firefighter rushed to hospital for serious burns to his hands, face and airway as out-of -control bushfires are updated to 'emergency' levels and the blaze cuts out power
- Firefighter rushed to hospital with serious burns to his hands, face and airways
- Residents in northern New South Wales are being warned to evacuate homes
- Out-of-control bushfire has caused mass evacuation with caravan park emptied
- Another fire near Lithgow has threatened 15 properties and burned down a shed
- Four out-of-control fires in the area have been upgraded to 'emergency' levels
A firefighter has been rushed to hospital with serious burns as out-of-control fires are upgraded to 'emergency' levels.
Residents in Tenterfield and Bees Nest in northern New South Wales are being told to evacuate properties as four fires are being fuelled by strong winds.
The NSW Rural Fire Service confirmed a male firefighter attending to a blaze just south of Tenterfield was injured on Friday afternoon.
The volunteer firefighter suffered serious burns to his face, hands and airway while fighting the out-of-control flames, ABC reported.
Ambulance paramedics treated the man at the scene but he was airlifted to Sydney for treatment.
Schools at Tenterfield were emptied, power cut to the town and its 4,000 residents advised to leave their homes on Friday afternoon.
Schools at Tenterfield, in northern New South Wales, were emptied, power cut to the town and residents advised to leave their homes on Friday afternoon (pictured, firefighters battle a blaze near Tenterfield)
Holidaymakers intending to visit the local Peter Allen Festival have also been moved from the caravan park to the showground and out of harm's way (pictured, an out-of-control fire continues to burn near Tenterfield)
The RFS also said the fire is continuing to burn 'intensely and aggressively' while small fixed wing planes and helicopters battle the blaze.
Both the Tenterfield and Bees Nest fires are beginning to move in an easterly direction and have been upgraded to 'emergency level', as well as the fires in Legume and Drake.
Holidaymakers intending to visit the local Peter Allen Festival have also been moved from the caravan park to the showground and out of harm's way.
Local man Jimmy said one driver was caught in the flames though miraculously managed to escape without any damage to his vehicle.
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'At the height of the fire there [as I was] just trying to help some people with a bit of traffic, there was old mate in a caravan… out towards the football field and the fire went straight under [the caravan] and left it completely unscathed - it's just incredible given all the embers that have been flying around everywhere.'
As many as 84 new fires have started across the state today with 38 of them still un-contained.
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has called it one of the worst fire days in years.
Another blaze is burning at Blake, about 50 kilometres outside of Tamworth, and also at the Guy Fawkes National Park at Bees Nest.
An out-of-control fire near Lithgow in the state's central west is also threatening at least 15 properties and burning down a shed.
The quick moving inferno has also made its way into a nearby pine forest raising the danger warning.
'Given the fuels that are within a pine forest obviously we have thick growth on the ground from all the pine nettles that do fall that obviously have a fair bit of oil as well,' RFS spokesman James Morris said.
Local Jimmy told ABC one driver was caught in the flames though miraculously managed to escape without any damage to his vehicle (pictured, a pillar of fire is caught on camera near Tenterfield)
As small fixed wing planes and helicopters battle the blaze, several fires continue to rage elsewhere around the region (pictured, an overview of smoke across northern NSW)
'Fires do burn very, very fierce through those pine areas and we will see coupled with warm temperatures and windy conditions, that fire move though there very quickly.'
Meanwhile in Queensland more than 20 fires are burning across the state with a fast-moving fire near Mareeba destroying one home.
Residents in the south of the state between Sarabah and Canungra have been advised to leave as hundreds of hectares of bushland have already been destroyed from fires burning since Tuesday.
Darlington Range Road, Climax Court, Limerick Drive, Coral Court, Bode Court and Shay Place have been flagged as next in line of the spreading fire.
Severe fire danger warnings have also been sounded in the Central Highlands and Coalfields district, WideBay and Burnett, and the southeast coast.
At least 30 firefighting aircraft are on standby in fire danger declared zones.
An out-of-control fire near Tenterfield has forced mass evacuation in the small, nearby town
Parts of southwest and southeast Queensland, including the southeast coast, are predicted to have severe or extreme fire conditions with some localised conditions possibly reaching catastrophic (pictured: bushfires in Qld)
The Queensland Fire and Emergency Service fire danger index said fires could burn so fast and hot it may be uncontrollable (pictured: bushfires in NSW)
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