IF bushfires ignite in the Chifley/Lithgow region on Tuesday, they will be fast moving, very difficult to control and could ignite spot fires up to 20 kilometres away.
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NSW is facing dangerous fire conditions on Tuesday with the risk determined 'extreme' in the Bathurst, Lithgow and Oberon local government areas.
On Monday, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a one-week state of emergency ahead of worsening bushfires conditions and said the government would take critical steps to protect people from bushfires.
Five people have lost their lives in bushfires in the past month, including an elderly couple in Coongbar in October, and three in northern NSW last week.
NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) Chifley/Lithgow Team operation officer Brett Taylor said anyone who lives near a bushland area in this region should leave their property for the day.
"People don't realise how quickly a fire can move," he said.
If there is a fire in extreme conditions, ultimately there is no building that is safe, properties are not built to withstand this.
- NSW Rural Fire Service Chifley/Lithgow Team operational officer Brett Taylor
"Anyone who doesn't live withing the city limits could certainly be at risk.
"If there is a fire in extreme conditions, ultimately there is no building that is safe, properties are not built to withstand this."
Mr Taylor said the current fire risk was the worst he had seen in the Chifley/Lithgow region for the past 15 years.
He said in extreme conditions, fires created their own weather patterns which could include lightning and strong winds that send burning embers kilometres ahead of the main fire front.
"Under these conditions you can't stop an extreme fire because of he wind and heat behind it," he said.
Meanwhile, Bathurst man Gavin Jeffries, who works for Forestry Corporation of NSW, has just returned from deployment to assist with running more than 15 bushfires burning around Wauchope.
In his time as a deputy incident controller he was responsible for managing firefighting operations, forward planning and logistics for many hundreds of personnel on the ground and in the air.
"The fires joined up to a size of 200,000 hectares, that's around 400,000 rugby league fields," he said.
"Our primary focus is life and the life of firefighters and life of of the community."
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Mr Jeffries compared these fires in northern NSW to the Canberra bushfires of 2003 that destroyed 487 homes, killed four people and left 435 injured.
Dozens of NSW RFS volunteers from the Chifley/Lithgow region have been fighting out-of-control bushfires in northern parts of the state.
Seven truckloads of volunteers have been fighting fires around Taree and Port Macquarie for the past few days.
Marrangaroo Brigade's Adam Sharwood said the crews would return home in time to prepare for the extreme conditions predicted on Tuesday, November 12.
"We want people to be aware of the extreme conditions and be switched on about what that means for them," he said.
On Tuesday a strike team or eight NSW RFS firefighters would be deployed to Walcha (located east of Tamworth) with another eight personnel to leave for that region on Friday.
Download a Bushfire Survival Plan now and stay up-to-date with fires in your area by downloading the NSW RFS Fires Near Me app.
A total fire ban is in place for the Central Ranges on Monday and Tuesday.
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