Wild winds gusting in excess of 100km/h are fanning a number of fires across the Illawarra and South Coast on Wednesday.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
$0/
(min cost $0)
or signup to continue reading
These major south coast bushfires are the worst of dozens of early-season blazes firefighters are battling across the state under severe conditions, with a total fire ban declared for Sydney, the Illawarra and Hunter regions until midnight on Wednesday.
It's the earliest declaration of a total fire ban in the regions in almost a decade, the NSW Rural Fire Service tweeted on Wednesday afternoon.
Rural Fire Service crews started their day at Berry when they were called to a bushfire near David Berry Hospital.
Before the RFS secured the situation a possible evacuation of the hospital was considered but the area was declared secure.
The RFS was keen to pump as much water onto the area around the hospital as they had to head to the Narang Road, Bomaderry fire.
A massive effort was put into fighting the Bomaderry fire which continued to flare for most of the day.
Crews from all over the Shoalhaven, along with crews from other regions, took part in the battle to get the blaze under control.