Seven people, including five firefighters, were seriously injured and at least one home destroyed as 60 bushfires flared suddenly around Sydney today.
Hundreds more homes were under threat from the fires that erupted simultaneously around the city's drought-ravaged perimeter, fuelled by searing temperatures and winds gusting to 100 kilometres (60 miles) an hour.
Some of the 60 fires were reported to have been deliberately lit, but the authorities were unable to confirm this.
Two giant helitankers on lease from the United States water-bombed fires in the outer suburbs.
One helitanker and other waterbombing aircraft were at another major fire at Maroota to the northwest of the city, with requests for a further 30 fire trucks to help battle the blaze.
The second helitanker was in action in the Ingleburn area of Sydney, to try to prevent a major fire reaching the Holsworthy Army Barracks.
The town of Broke, in the Hunter Valley, was surrounded by two fires and a blaze had broken out at Wellums Creek, near Gosford on the central coast, and another near Grafton.
The New South Wales Fire Brigade said the fires had started simultaneously around metropolitan Sydney, hitting at least two dozen suburbs.
"All those fire outbreaks have occurred within the last one hour," a fire brigade spokesman said.
Authorities said it was too early to determine whether the outbreaks were linked and if they were deliberately lit.
AFP