A fire at Springwood was elevated to the highest emergency level after being fanned by strong winds. Source: AAP
NSW is facing three fresh bushfire emergencies with new blazes springing up around Newcastle and a Blue Mountains blaze flaring up after the predicted diabolical conditions hit.
A fire at Springwood was elevated to the highest emergency level on Wednesday afternoon after being fanned by strong winds that were also showering homes with embers.
Springwood resident Rae Tebbutt said the atmosphere was tense.
"Everyone is terrified. I've got three friends who have lost everything," Ms Tebbutt told AAP.
"Our car's packed up. All our photos, personal items, the laptop, documents are all ready to go."
Two emergency warnings are current in the Newcastle area north of Sydney with two schools evacuated and the M1 motorway closed in both directions at Minmi.
Sharon Wilson, chef and kitchen manager at the Minmi Hotel, described conditions as "crazy".
She and her colleagues have been holed up inside the hotel awaiting instructions from firefighters.
"We've been spraying the pub down and the grass around it," she told AAP.
"There's a lot of embers and ash flying over us.
A dangerous fire is also burning at Gateshead, south of Newcastle, threatening the suburbs of Redhead and Dudley.
At Redhead, 15 students were being cared for in the school hall after parents were asked not to pick them up because of the fire hazard on the road.
There are now more than 71 bushfires in NSW including 29 that are uncontained.
Thousands of firefighters are on the field and 95 aircraft available.
Hundreds of Blue Mountains residents have fled their fire-threatened homes for evacuation centres outside the mountains.
One of these was Yrsa Forde, who found herself grabbing her baby and bolting for the second time in less than a week.
This time the 31-year-old from Sun Valley, near Springwood, headed for Penrith at the foot of the mountains early in the morning.
"We don't want to take any risks because we've got a baby and animals as well so we can't leave quickly," she told AAP at the Penrith information centre.
"We're just going to stay out until it's not likely the fire will come through."
"If the fire comes through I don't think we will have a home to come back to," she said.
Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said firefighters still faced many hours of dangerous, volatile conditions.
"We still have a few hours yet of the strong winds and the warmer conditions, the winds are expected to continue right through to nightfall and beyond," he told reporters at RFS headquarters.
Premier Barry O'Farrell thanked the almost 1,000 interstate firefighters who were lending a hand but condemned the reported action of one Blue Mountains landlord who had attempted to increase rent for people who had lost their homes and were seeking emergency short-term accommodation.
"Regrettably despite some wonderful stories of great community spirit which has gone on during this fire crisis there is always going to be the odd alternative," he said.
A southerly change overnight is expected to present a double-edged sword for firefighters.
Mr Fitzsimmons said while a change to south-southwesterly winds would bring cooler conditions, it would put pressure on some areas.
"In a lot of the areas a southwesterly change as it stands today would prove to be somewhat favourable across a lot of the fire grounds," he said.
"There will be other areas where it will present some challenges."
A southwesterly will have the benefit of keeping it away from communities adjacent to the south of fire fronts, Mr Fitzsimmons added.
"That doesn't mean it will make all of these fire grounds trouble-free," he said.
"As a matter of fact, it has the very real potential to present new challenges."
With fires still active in the Blue Mountains, residents who fled earlier on Wednesday have been asked not to return.
Mr Fitzsimmons said fire-threatened communities weren't safe just yet.
"We still have hours to go," he said.
"There are still fires flaring up, running and impacting on communities this afternoon.
"There is every prospect we are going to see some more.
"There is every prospect we are going to see some fires breaking out on the existing fire grounds we have across the Blue Mountains."
