Australia Issues Emergency Evacuation Orders as New South Wales Bushfires Devastate Thousands of Hectares

Reuters

Firefighters work at the site where bushfire destroyed homes along Glenrock Parade, in Koolewong on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, 6 December 2025.

Wildfires in New South Wales (NSW) in Australian tore through thousands of hectares of bushland on Saturday, prompting authorities to issue emergency-level evacuation warnings for communities in the nation’s most populous state.

The highest-level alert was issued for the Phegans Bay and Woy Woy area on the Central Coast—home to more than 350,000 residents—located about 45 km north of Sydney.

According to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation, up to 16 homes have been destroyed as fires intensified across the region.

“Leave now if the path is clear towards Woy Woy,” the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) warned on its website, urging residents not to delay evacuation.

A severe heatwave, with temperatures soaring to 42°C (108°F), sharply increased fire danger levels, the Bureau of Meteorology said.

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese urged communities to remain vigilant: “Please look out for each other and follow advice from authorities.”

More than 50 bushfires were burning across the state late on Saturday, including a major blaze in the Upper Hunter region, also listed at the highest emergency level, which has already scorched nearly 10,000 hectares (25,000 acres).

Authorities have warned of a potentially dangerous bushfire season ahead after several quieter years. The catastrophic “Black Summer” fires of 2019–2020 burned an area roughly the size of Turkey and claimed 33 lives.

Source: Reuters



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