Parts of NSW and the ACT are once again bracing for severe fire danger, just weeks after huge fires tore through NSW's south coast.
A number of fires continue to burn throughout south-eastern NSW and the ACT, with hot and windy conditions and severe fire danger expected for the Illawarra and Shoalhaven area, far south coast, Monaro Alpine, Southern Ranges and Southern Slopes.
The NSW Rural Fire Service warned on Friday that a number of fires already burning were likely to spread and could threaten homes.
A state of emergency was declared in the ACT for the first time since 2003 on Friday, as an out-of-control fire in the Orroral Valley threatened homes in the area.
The fire has already burnt through more than 20,000 hectares - or about eight per cent of the ACT's total area- ACT Chief Minister Andrew Barr said on Friday.
"Conditions are now very dangerous, and the fire may pose a threat to all lives directly in its path," the ACT RFS said in a statement on Friday night.
Mr Barr said the ACT was facing their worst fire threat since the fire emergency of 2003, which killed four people and damaged more than 470 homes.
"The combination of extreme heat, wind and a dry landscape will place suburbs at Canberra's south at risk in coming days," he said.
NSW RFS warned that the Orroral Valley fire was likely to cross over into NSW and towards a number of rural areas on Saturday, becoming the Clear Range Fire.
Two fires are burning at watch and act level on the NSW south coast, the Big Jack Mountain and Creewah Road fire, are also likely to join on Saturday, the NSW RFS said.
The Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning for "low to severe heatwave conditions" expected to hit eastern Victoria, NSW and southern Queensland over the weekend.
Extreme heat swept through Victoria on Friday, causing the state's electricity operator to urge residents to reduce power consumption to avoid blackouts.
