Bushfires are raging from the mountains to the sea on Australia's east coast as thousands of weary firefighters ended their 11th day of battling scores of fires with no rain in sight.
While fires in Sydney's leafy northern suburbs were contained, others burned out of control in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney and along the south coast, again threatening homes.
Some 10,000 firefighters are facing fires, many lit by arsonists, on fronts totaling 2,000 km. The fires have destroyed 160 homes and burned an area twice the size of greater London, but there have been no deaths.
The fire, nicknamed the "Burragorang Beast," has burned out of control in the Burragorang valley at the foot of the mountains since Christmas Day today licked mountain towns.
Late today, part of that blaze moved to within meters of homes in the township of Woodford. Officials said about 100 firefighters were trying to beat back the flames there and that some residents had chosen to evacuate their homes.
"You simply can't directly attack a fire like this by ground crews. It's much too ferocious in terms of its intensity," said fire official John Winter.
New fires on the south coast saw several coastal towns on alert with some evacuations. Twelve national parks on the coast were closed due to out of control fires.
Fire officials said weather conditions across NSW state were easing with moist easterly winds replacing the hot, dry westerlies which have been fanning fires.
But without rain there was no end in sight to the fires.