NSW fire authorities have warned they'll prioritise lives over homes over the weekend while an eighth fatality has been confirmed as the housing toll grows.
Fire authorities in NSW say they'll prioritise lives over homes as severe and extreme conditions again loom over the state.
An eighth person since Monday evening has been confirmed dead after police found a missing 72-year-old man's body by a Belowra road.
The unidentified man's death follows the deaths of six other civilians since New Year's Eve and that of 28-year-old volunteer firefighter Samuel McPaul, who died on Monday in a truck crash near the NSW-Victoria border.
Almost 450 homes were destroyed on New Year's Eve, authorities confirmed on Friday, with the number destroyed over the bushfire season now reaching 1365.
Another 100 facilities and 2,339 outbuildings have been razed.
NSW faces a two-day total fire ban from Friday, the third seven-day state of emergency in as many months and demands for those across the state's South Coast and Snowy Valleys to evacuate immediately.
All people in the 1300-strong town of Batlow were ordered to leave by Thursday night, with the 130,000-hectare Dunns Road fire expected to hit on Friday. A similar message was issued for Khancoban, Greg Greg and Tooma.
The Kosciuszko National Park was also closed on Friday.
Holiday-makers in the alps and popular holiday destinations between Nowra and the Victorian border were asked to be out by Friday night, causing massive traffic queues and petrol and supply shortages.
