An elderly man whose home was consumed by flames is missing; properties have been lost and firies injured on another dreadful day in NSW.
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An elderly man from Dargan choose to sat and defend his residence on what turned into a hellish Saturday, Rural Fire Service commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons explained..
He remains unaccounted for, the RFS boss said on Saturday night.
"There are some reports that the property is now enveloped by fire and we cannot locate that man. We're hoping that he has chosen to relocate somewhere but we just do not know," AAP reported.
NSW Ambulance chief executive Dominic Morgan said a number of firefighters suffered heat exhaustion on Saturday while battling the fires, which were having a "big impact" on demand for emergency services.
Mr Fitzsimmons later added one firefighter at Lithgow had been treated for smoke inhalation and another at Gospers Mountain was struck by a car.
More than 100 extra paramedics were in the field in NSW on Saturday night.
The Great Western reopened on Saturday night between Lithgow and Katoomba in both directions.
However, Bells Line of Road and Chifley Road remains closed between Kurrajong and Lithgow.
Trains are not running between Katoomba and Lithgow/Bathurst on the Blue Mountains Line either. Buses are replacing trains between Katoomba and Lithgow.
At 11pm Saturday authorities allowed residents who live in Bowen Mountain and Kurrajong Heights to return home.
Also in the Blue Mountains/Central West areas:
- Jenolan Caves Rd and Edith Road are closed between Hampton and Oberon.
- Bells Road is closed in Lithgow.
- The Castlereagh Highway is closed between Ben Bullen and Wallerawang.
- Megalong Road is closed at Shipley Road in Megalong Valley.
- Bowen Mountain Road is closed at Westbury Road in Bowen Mountain.
On Saturday night there were four NSW fires burning at an emergency warning level. They included the 460,000-hectare blaze at Gospers Mountain, the 130,000-hectare Currowan fire on the south coast and the 189,000-hectare Green Wattle Creek fire.
A fire at Palmers Oaky, west of Gospers Mountain, was also at emergency level.
Fears the southerly winds moving upstate during the evening would fan fires in new directions had come to pass, Mr Fitzsimmons said.
He said it would be a number of hours before the erratic fire behaviour prompted by the change gave way to milder firefighting conditions for the 3000 crews and emergency personnel in the field.
Conditions were so dry cooler conditions may also have little effect.
"On the far south coast, we are seeing a betterment behind the change but it will take a long time for behaviour to settle once that change has moved through so we've still got a long night ahead," Mr Fitzsimmons said.
A fire-generated thunderstorm formed over fires in the Shoalhaven region, potentially escalating fire danger.
"A pyro-cumulonimbus can create erratic winds and dry lightning and result in significantly faster fire spread," the RFS warned.
Similar storms could also develop over Gospers Mountain, it said, further distorting fire behaviour and direction.
The RFS said blazes could jump containment lines and threaten houses in suburban areas as winds blew embers far ahead of established fire fronts.
Before the Saturday afternoon arrival of the southerly there were 112 fires burning across the state, combined with temperatures surpassing 40C and winds gusting up to 90km/h.
