'We will be working for WEEKS to get these fires under control': Warning NSW's catastrophic firestorm is not over - with more than 100 fires are still burning across the state
- Firefighters battling 86 fires across New South Wales - 25 of them which were still uncontained as of Monday
- NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said it could take weeks to get them under control
- Dozens of homes, properties and livestock have reportedly been destroyed in the blazes over two days
- Assessment teams will inspect affected areas on Monday to learn how many properties have been damaged
- At least one person and a firefighter were taken to hospital with burns and others sustained minor injuries
- Two people were charged for lighting fires at Mango Creek on central coast and Orange in central west
It could take weeks of 'dangerous work' before firefighters are able to extinguish 86 blazes burning across New South Wales on Monday morning.
More than 2,000 firefighters have spent the past two days battling dozens of fires across the state in what has been described the worst bushfire conditions on record, but it could take days and even weeks before the remaining blazes are declared safe, NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told 9News.
Although weather conditions have cooled off and improved overnight, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said the size and intensity of the two largest blazes - Sir Ivans Fire near Dunedoo and a fire just north of Mudgee - will keep hundreds of firefighters busy on Monday.
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It could take weeks before firefighters are able to extinguish 86 blazes - 25 which are uncontained - burning across New South Wales as of on Monday morning (pictured)
More than 2,000 firefighters have spent the past two days battling dozens of fires across the state in what has been described the worst bushfire conditions on record
Although weather conditions have cooled off and improved overnight, Commissioner Fitzsimmons said the size and intensity of the two largest blazes - Sir Ivans Fire near Dunedoo and a fire just north of Mudgee - will keep firefighters busy
'We still have 86 fires across NSW - 25 of those remain uncontained. The two at Watch and Act alert levels are the fire near Dunedoo and the one out near Mudgee,' Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
'Give you some perspective, that Dunedoo fire, it has an edge around that fire of about 200km of active fire edge. That's the magnitude of operation we are talking about today and over the coming days.'
'Clearly, the weather is going to be of some benefit but there is a lot of very dirty, difficult and dangerous work ahead for firefighters before we can come close to getting these fires under control,' he said.
Commissioner Fitzsimmons said assessment teams will work on Monday to evaluate the number of homes, buildings and farms that have been lost.
It has been reported dozens of properties have been destroyed, as well as livestock and agricultural assets.
The Sir Ivans Fire, which wrecked homes in Cassilis, has destroyed almost 50,000 hectares of land, according to the RFS.
No one has been severely injured, but one firefighter has been hospitalised for burns.
The NSW Rural Fire Service has warned fire danger is still 'very high' in the North Western and Greater Hunter and a total fire ban has been put in place.
Distraught farmers watched as a ferocious blaze rip through the town of Uarbry in New South Wales on Sunday
A family has left a sign in front of their Uarbry property to indicate to authorities they have evacuated their home safely. A large fire ripped through the township of Cassilis and surrounding areas in the central west on Sunday (right)
Firefighters battling bushfires in Muogamarra (pictured) to defend hundreds of properties under threat across NSW
'For the rest of the state, we are looking at high to low on Monday. Conditions will certainly ease,' a spokesman said.
Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Neil Fraser said there's the potential for damaging winds 'but the good news is it should be all easing off by the early hours of Monday'.
Despite fire dangers remaining in place in some areas, Mr Fraser said no part of the state would face severe, extreme or catastrophic conditions.
'The ratings are dropping right away with the cooler air coming across,' Mr Fraser said. 'The only part of the state still in the 30s is the northern inland areas.'
Hundreds of fire crews rush to save properties near Cassilis, Mudgee and Wauchope for much of Sunday
Out-of-control bushfires burned through the night across NSW as firefighters worked desperately to contain the blazes
Fire in Dunedoo left properties under threat, as hundreds of residents were forced to flee from their rural properties
Cassillis resident Stella Cornish, 79, said the fire was the worst she has seen - as she revealed she has lived in the town for most of her life with her husband Doug, 86.
'By god, this morning all hell broke loose. I said to one of the firey guys that we have never seen it this bad,' she told Fairfax Media.
Residents in affected areas were told it was too late to leave as they were urged to seek shelter on Sunday afternoon.
'This is the worst day we've seen in the history of NSW when it comes to fire danger ratings and fire danger conditions,' Commissioner Fitzsimmons said at the time.
The Baptist Church at Aberdare, Cessnock in the Lower Hunter Region of NSW was reportedly destroyed by the fire just five minutes after an evening service finished
Homeowner Warren Jarvis (pictured) spoke of his heartbreak after losing his property and farm animals to the ferocious bushfire in the township of Cassilis in central west NSW
A massive blaze has ripped through the township of Cassilis in the central west of New South Wales on Sunday
More than 2,000 firefighters are battling more than 80 blazes across NSW, including Cassilis and surrounding area
Residents of Uarbry, Turill and Cassilis have been urged to seek shelter with the emergency crew warning it is too late to leave
On Sunday, dozens of properties were threatened near Dunedoo where the blaze stretched over tens of kilometres, Mr Fitzsimmons said, and there may have been one home lost in Boggabri.
'At this stage, we have got some unconfirmed reports of homes being lost, sheds being lost and machinery being lost, and other agricultural assets being lost on some of these fire grounds,' Mr Fitzsimmons said.
'It's extremely volatile, we see increased wind strengths, we see very erratic and dangerous fire behaviour, we see spotting activity going in all sorts of directions.'
One firefighter was taken to hospital with burns and others sustained minor injuries, deputy RFS commissioner Rob Rogers told the ABC on Sunday night. A resident was flown to a Sydney hospital for treatment after suffering serious burns fighting fire at Boggabri, near Narrabri in north western NSW.
The Baptist Church at Aberdare, Cessnock in the Lower Hunter Region of NSW was reportedly destroyed by the fire just five minutes after an evening service finished. No one was reported injured.
Meanwhile, two people have been charged for lighting fires at Mango Creek on central coast and Orange in central west. A third person, a 32-year-old man, was arrested on Sunday afternoon after two fires were deliberately lit at Nabiac on the North Coast. He is being questioned by police.
Firefighters are battling to contain more than 80 blazes across New South Wales, with red indicating catastrophic fire danger
The highest-level catastrophic fire danger was declared across vast areas of the state (pictured) for Sunday after temperatures rocketed to 47C on Saturday
Thick plume of smoke hover above the township of Cassilis in the central west of NSW for much of Sunday
A ferocious fire has ripped through the township of Cassilis and surrounding areas in central west of New South Wales
The Rural Fire Service has warned an incoming southerly wind change will present significant dangers to firefighters
A fire burning in Leadville, near Dubbo, on Saturday afternoon
The Leadville fire is one of at least 53 burning during Saturday, with worse to come on Sunday
The New South Wales Rural Fire Service posted this picture from Wimbledon Road, Georges Plains
NSW RFS crews were in Georges Plains fighting a fast moving grass fire, officials wrote
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