Homes in flames as bushfires ragehttp://www.abc.net.au/news/stories/2009/12/17/2774855.htmProperties, homes and cars have been burnt in a large fire at Gerogery, north of Albury, in southern New South Wales.
The blaze began at a tip in the nearby village of Walla about 1:00pm (AEDT) and has burnt through grazing land between Glenellen and Gerogery.
Marg Wehner from the Rural Fire Service (RFS) says residents in the area should seek safety.
"If they do not wish to be in the area, it's probably too late to be leaving now," she said.
"The fire is within the vicinity and the smoke is very high. They need to just batten down the hatches and hang in there."
RFS commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons has told ABC local radio that an emergency alert has been issued for Gerogery, West Gerogery and surrounding areas.
"That emergency alert will be going out to communities in that area because that fire is moving and burning very aggressively," he said.
He says there are about 50 trucks in and around the area.
"We've [got] 50 firefighting appliances in an around that fire, half a dozen aircraft supporting the firefighting effort and probably in the order of 200 plus firefighters by now working across fire ground in that area," Mr Fitzsimmons said.
The RFS says properties near Table Top North, Bowna, Wymah, Mullengandra and Mountain Creek are also affected.
Sydney blazes
Meanwhile, the RFS says bushfires are posing an immediate threat to properties at Londonderry in Sydney's north-west.
Mr Fitzsimmons says he has heard reports that one home may have already been lost.
"It's early days at this stage - that could be a shed - but the indications were it might actually be a home," he said.
The RFS says semi-rural properties are under immediate threat in Nutt Road, Taylor Road, Devlin Road and Smeeton Road.
A spokesman says the fires will threaten homes on nearby Londonderry Road soon.
He says the service has issued an emergency warning and has 200 firefighters on the scene.
Temperatures in Sydney's west have passed 40 degrees this afternoon.
The Bureau of Meteorology says the temperature at Richmond in the north-west was 40.7 degrees at 2.00pm AEDT.
Grassfire
Four aircraft and more than 45 fire trucks are tackling another large grassfire moving quickly towards properties near Tooma in southern NSW.
Mr Fitzsimmons says he is concerned about the wind change in the Tooma area and says there are reports of some injuries on the ground.
"We've had reports from our field officers down around the border regions and they've already seen winds up to and exceeding 120 kilometres per hour ahead of that frontal activity," he said.
"That's really causing us a problem right now. There are reports coming in that there may be homes and property alight as a result of that fast-moving fire."
RFS crews are also battling a 150-hectare grass and bushfire near Michelago, south of Canberra.
Authorities say a change in the weather this afternoon should help them bring it under control and no property is under immediate threat.
The bushfire danger for the Monaro area has been set at the highest catastrophic level.
