Gallery:  Bushfire danger not over, hot weather continues

The Bureau of Meteorology predicts temperatures to reach 28 degrees on Sunday and 31 degrees on Monday, with winds of up to 35 km/h during the afternoon.

There are no bushfires in Sutherland Shire but there is a scrub fire two kilometres east of Otford, on the Bulga Track in the Royal National Park. Lady Wakehurst Drive is closed between McKell Avenue and Otford Road and motorists are advised to avoid the area.

Motorists may experience road closures to the south depending on conditions but the NSW Environment and Heritage reports the Royal National Park is open from Farnell Avenue to McKell Avenue.

Sutherland Shire Rural Fire Service Superintendent, Andrew Pinfold, said the strong winds and heat experienced yesterday were among the worst conditions he had seen in more than a decade.

‘‘Some emergency service personnel have never experienced fire behaviour at this magnitude,’’ he said.

‘‘It was erratic and looked like Armageddon in some areas.’’

About 30 southern Sydney firefighters battled bushfires at Balmoral and the Blue Mountains yesterday and some were redeployed to the Wilton region this morning to help contain some of the larger bushfires.

The Leader  was inundated with images taken by readers of the dark red skies in southern Sydney. (See photo gallery above).

 Cronulla was blanketed by thick smoke coming from fires in the Southern Highlands, Campbelltown, the Blue Mountains and Newcastle.

About 70 RFS firefighters were on standby yesterday in the shire in case of an emergency and crews quickly extinguished a fire on the median strip in New Illawarra Road near the Bangor Bypass.

Mr Pinfold said there was no end in sight for firefighters, with conditions expected to flare up over the weekend.

‘‘We’ve got a long way to go. It’s hard to believe we’re only in the second month of spring,’’ he said.

‘‘Unfortunately, it appears we will have a heightened alert status on Monday, which looks to be a day of concern.’’

Mr Pinfold said crews were well-prepared to prevent bushfires similar to those experienced in 1994, 1997, 2001 and 2002 where houses were destroyed at suburbs including Engadine and Menai.

‘‘We have a number of strategies in place to ensure if any emergency does occur, we can rapidly deploy crews to extinguish any fire but residents need to be prepared,’’ he said.

‘‘Considerable population growth in the western parts of the shire means not everyone is bushfire-aware.

‘‘Everyone needs to have a bushfire survival plan.

‘‘Residents need to prepare their homes for bushfires by clearing their gutters and should always monitor the media for updates during emergencies.’’

Call triple-0 if you see a fire.

THURSDAY:

NSW Rural Fire Service crews extinguished a fire on the median strip on New Illawarra Road near the Bangor Bypass on Thursday.

The skies in southern Sydney were heavy with smoke coming from fires in the Southern Highlands, Campbelltown and Blue Mountains and Newcastle.

About 30 southern Sydney firefighters attended bushfires at Balmoral and the Blue Mountains. 

Another 70 Rural Fire Service firefighters were on standby in Sutherland Shire in case of an emergency.

See related story: http://www.theleader.com.au/story/1847171/sydney-faces-high-temperatures-strong-winds/?cs=1507