Smoke Descends on Sydney as City Braces for 'Catastrophic' Fires

The effects of the large bushfires raging in the state of New South Wales were beginning to impact Sydney on Monday, November 11, as smoke drifted over the city in a prelude to what could be unprecedented fire danger.

At least 64 bush and grass fires were burning across New South Wales, 40 of which had not been contained, on November 11, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service said. At least 10 fires were burning out of control at “Watch and Act” level. Three people had died by November 11, fire services said, and more than 150 homes had been lost. An unconfirmed number of people were unaccounted for.

The New South Wales Rural Fire Service predicted “catastrophic fire danger” for Greater Sydney on November 12. Similar warnings were in place for the Illawarra, Shoalhaven and Hunter regions.

A spokesman for the fire service told the Sydney Morning Herald “this is as bad as it gets”.

More than 200 schools were expected to close as a result of the fire threat, NSW Education Minister Sarah Mitchell said. Credit: Margot Lloyd via Storyful