Sydney:
Hundreds of homes are feared to have been destroyed by intense wildfires that tore across southeastern Australia in ferocious wind conditions today, darkening Sydney's skies with smoke and ash, firefighters said.
Five major blazes were burning across the state of New South Wales, fanned by high, erratic winds in unseasonably warm 34 degree Celsius weather, as infernos in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney plunged the city into an eerie, ash-flecked darkness.
"We are unclear yet as to how many properties have been lost, but it's expected by the time we finish counting, it will be at least in the hundreds," said NSW state Premier Barry O'Farrell.
"It will take some days to see the end of these fires and I suspect if we get through that without the loss of life, we should thank God for miracles."
In total, 95 fires were being tackled across the state with 34 out of control.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said it had been a "very difficult and dangerous day" of "extraordinary fire behaviour", with blazes travelling vast distances due to the winds.
"This is as bad as it gets, you're talking destructive, damaging, and people losing everything they own," he told reporters, adding that it could be weeks before the fires were fully under control.
No fatalities have been reported so far, while just one firefighter has been injured, although Fitzsimmons deputy Rob Rogers told ABC television the fear was that people could be in the destroyed houses.