The calm before the storm. This is how the dramatic situation is described throughout New South Wales, including the five million city of Sydney.

Alerts on Tuesday and Wednesday in the metropolitan area were already at the very highest level, "Catastrophic fire danger", when the RFS rescue service on Monday announced that the fires could be even worse than they thought, and cover an even larger area. Virtually the entire state's coastal distance of 2,100 kilometers has now received the highest warning.

It includes both the Blue Mountains mountain range and several suburbs to Sydney. It is the first time since today's fire warning system was introduced ten years ago that the highest warning level also applies to Sydney.

The fires are spreading

In anticipation of rising temperatures to around 35 degrees and strong winds, Monday was relatively "calm". Of the 60 fires that ravaged the state, half were reported to be under control. But authorities warned the public to relax and urged those in danger to be hit to pack the most important and prepare for evacuation.

- We cannot guarantee a fire truck at every home, says RFS head Shane Fitzsimmons, according to ABC News, and urge everyone in the risk zones to leave their home.

- If you don't do it tonight, you must definitely do it early tomorrow morning. We know that we will not be able to control the fires along the northern coast until tomorrow, which means that the fires will spread, they will spread quickly and aggressively.