Firefighters battled a significant escalation in fire activity across Lithgow and the Blue Mountains on Saturday, fanned by temperatures in the high-30s and wind gusts up to 90 kilometres an hour.
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The escalation saw dozens of buildings, including homes and businesses, destroyed along the Bells Line of Road from Lithgow to Bilpin.
However, the Bureau of Meterology [BOM] has forecast a 50 per cent chance of rain for the Lithgow area today, which could provide relief for firefighters.
Yesterday saw the NSW Rural Fire Service [RFS] downgrade the Gospers Mountain and Grose Valley fires to 'advice' levels, but the BOM has predicted a return to temperatures in the mid-30s this weekend.
"There's a lot of work that needs to be managed and ameliorated between now and the onset of hotter, more challenging conditions at the end of this week," NSW RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said in a press conference on Sunday.
"We've effectively got fire stretching from Lithgow to Kurrajong Heights, and there's an indication winds will turn north by Sunday," Mr Fitzsimmons said.
After a difficult weekend battling bushfires across the state in heatwave temperatures, the NSW RFS released an impact assessment yesterday detailing the current fire season's toll on buildings.
As of Sunday, approximately 829 homes, 62 facilities and 1925 outbuildings have been destroyed statewide since the start of the fire season.
On a lighter note, the same impact assessment revealed firefighters have saved 7310 homes, 573 facilities and 6762 outbuildings across the same time period.
