Bushfire Threat Forces Hundreds of Schools Across NSW to Shut Down

Catastrophic fire danger warnings are in place.

Bushfires in parts of New South Wales and Queensland have continued to rage, with NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian declaring a week-long state of emergency on Monday. More than 70 fires continue to burn across the state, and the conditions are only intensifying.

The NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner, Shane Fitzsimmons, said in a statement that strong winds won’t help the ongoing firefighting efforts.

"This will only worsen throughout the afternoon as the weather conditions continue to deteriorate, and particularly those strong winds strengthen and become more consistent across the afternoon," he said.

He also stressed that the fires are "getting closer to population centres."

A 'catastrophic' fire warning has been issued for the Sydney, Illawarra and Hunter areas, which includes the Blue Mountains and the Central Coast. It is the first time that this level of danger has been forecast since new fire ratings were introduced in 2009.

As a result of the imminent threat, around 600 schools across NSW, including TAFE and university campuses, have been ordered to shut down by the Education Department and NSW Catholic Schools officials.

The NSW Education Department is regularly updating a list of which schools are non-operational due to increased fire risk in the area. The list also includes non-government schools.

As of 3.35pm AEST today, two public schools have been destroyed in the bushfires. 

Given the excessive smoke from the bushfires, NSW Health is advising people with existing lung and heart conditions like asthma to avoid going outdoors. 

Premier Berejiklian has warned that the conditions are expected to continue until at least 7pm on Tuesday, with even more fires reaching emergency level. 

At the moment, at least 150 homes have been lost to fires, and 1500 volunteer firefighters are in the field. Four people have lost their lives.

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