Firefighters are battling more than 60 bushfires across NSW including the fire-ravaged north coast where three people died and at least 150 homes were destroyed over the weekend.
Of those, more than half of the fires remain uncontained and 40 schools around the area have been closed on Monday after a total state fire ban was declared for Monday and Tuesday.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzimmons says the threat to life is very real.
We cannot guarantee a fire truck at every home. We cannot guarantee an aircraft will be overhead every time a fire is impacting on your property. We cannot guarantee that someone will knock on the door and give you a warning that there's fires nearby.
NSW RURAL FIRE SERVICE COMMISSIONER SHANE FITZIMMONS
"We cannot guarantee a fire truck at every home. We cannot guarantee an aircraft will be overhead every time a fire is impacting on your property. We cannot guarantee that someone will knock on the door and give you a warning that there's fires nearby," he said.
"And we certainly cannot guarantee that despite our best efforts the technological tools available will deliver you a message in time."
New South Wales Premier Gladys Berejiklian says her decision to declare a state of emergency has not been taken lightly.
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"I want to assure everybody that we have taken every step we can to protect life and property but we also need to stress that when something is determined to be catastrophic, there is a high degree of unpredictability," she said.
"We don't know exactly where the fires are going to flare up but we do know that we when you have average weather conditions at 38 degrees and extremely windy conditions across the state, that everybody has to be on alert no matter where you are."
Everybody has to be on alert no matter where you are.
Authorities have also declared a "catastrophic" fire danger for the Greater Sydney region, including the Blue Mountains and the Hunter, on Tuesday - the first time this warning level has been advised in the 10 years since new fire danger ratings were introduced.
"Catastrophic is as bad as it gets. Homes are simply not designed to withstand fire under those conditions," RFS spokesman Anthony Clark said.
"We've got big population centres covered by that catastrophic fire danger.
"Up on the north coast, where we've simply got a lot of fires burning at the moment, those fires have got a real potential to run and impact on lives and properties on Tuesday.
"So the risk is very real."
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NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said students sitting their HSC should contact their school if they are unsure if exams will occur, or if it is unsafe for them to get to an examination venue.
Hot winds and temperatures in the 30s are forecast for Monday in the major fire zones in the Clarence Valley and Mid-North Coast, including Port Macquarie and Glen Innes.
The NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service will also expand closures of national parks and reserves until further notice.
But Mr Clark said authorities are "really concerned" about the urban fringe area around Sydney.
"Built-up areas where people live such as the northern suburbs of Sydney, up through the Central Coast, the Blue Mountains, the Sutherland Shire - if you're living anywhere near the bush, you are at risk," he said.
Glen Innes resident Carol Sparks was one of the 6,000 residents evacuated over the weekend. Many lost their homes although authorities are still to complete a detailed assessment of the damage caused by the firestorm.
"I don't know how we're going to recover," Ms Sparks told the Seven Network on Monday.
"It's just a huge mess ... the houses have all collapsed ... we haven't got any water".
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Meanwhile, all three people who died in the bushfires in NSW have been identified, while all those feared missing have been accounted for.
The dead are Julie Fletcher, 63, whose body was discovered on Saturday in a burned down house in the town of Johns River, north of Taree on the mid-north coast.
The other victims were Vivian Chaplain, 69, and George Nole, both of Wytaliba, in the Glen Innes area.
Prime Minister Scott Morrison on Sunday visited an evacuation centre in Taree where he met people, including 85-year-old Owen Whalan, who had been forced to flee.
With authorities still to complete a detailed assessment of damage done so far, the RFS says at least 150 homes had been destroyed.
RFS Comissioner Shane Fitzsimmons says every resource and pair of boots on the ground will be needed to deal with Tuesday's catastrophic conditions.
"I would call on all our employers, particularly our volunteers whether they're in the Rural Fire Service, the emergency services or indeed our retained firefighters that rely on the generosity of their employers to give them time away from work," he said.
We will be wanting as many firefighters available and on stand-by tomorrow."
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NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian visited devastated bushfire communities on Sunday, telling reporters people were in a "traumatised" state.
"What really hit me today is even though some people know that their homes are OK they are still extremely traumatised by what they have experienced," she said.
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The premier said the federal and state governments had already moved to put disaster relief arrangements in place.
The RFS will also coordinate relief work with the Australian Defence Force.
RFS Comissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has also issued a stern warning to anyone who may look to exacerbate the risk to life and property.
"Any criminal that decides to do some sort of deliberate lighting of a fire tomorrow, we have got the best police services in the world," he said.
"If anyone sees anything suspicious, anything untoward, don't hesitate to report it. 1800 333 000 or Crime Stoppers or see someone doing something illegal 000, so we get the right resources there."
SOURCE AAP - SBS
