The bushfire emergency in parts of the Sutherland Shire forced some residents to flee their homes, caused road closures and has disrupted power supplies.
But amid the chaos some things were able to continue as normal – like Sunday football at The Ridge Playing Fields.
The Bangor Football Club were able to proceed with their home matches despite billowing smoke from the out of control fire on the horizon.
One Bangor Brumbies player involved in a women’s game this morning said it was a remarkable experience.
“We've played in pouring rain and freezing cold conditions, but this was something else,” she said.
“Luckily at The Ridge the majority of the smoke was being blown to the north of the fields so it wasn’t hard to breathe.
“The referee consistently checked with players to see if anyone was having any trouble.”
She said the club wanted to keep the games going where possible but some of the later games may have were affected by road closures.
The Sutherland Shire Football Association only cancelled games at Buckle Reserve, Menai, today and left it up to clubs and referees to determine if it was safe to play.
In a statement on its website the Association said it had monitored the fire situation all morning.
“[The Association] has been in constant contact with clubs and authorities,” the statement said.
“The unpredictable winds have circumstances changing across varying areas and as such we ask all clubs to consider the health and well being of our members.
“To date Buckle Reserve is the only fields that have been deemed out.
“It is the responsibility of clubs to make the call if safety is a concern and the Association will endeavour where possible to play catch up games for those affected.”