Out-of-control grassfire threatens homes in Sydney's south-west

More than 80 firefighters have battled the out of control blaze as a fire emergency was declared in Edmondson Park in Sydney's south-west.

Transcript

00:00A challenging afternoon for dozens of firefighters.

00:05You guys are saving our lives.

00:08Wind gusts of more than 100km an hour pushed up flames from the south coast through Sydney.

00:14Due to the wind the fire was burning quite fiercely and into the bush that was in the area.

00:21At around 2pm the fire took hold of this former amusement park near Camden.

00:27Come through the next door's houses that have been abandoned for a few years.

00:31At one point the fire was burning at emergency level and nearby residents were told to seek shelter.

00:38Police!

00:39Just near our house so it's a bit crazy here at the moment.

00:42Too much smoke, can't even breathe.

00:44By late afternoon firefighters managed to get the blaze under control.

00:48I think the thing that's in our favour is that whilst we're still in winter,

00:52some of those grasslands aren't completely cured, so not completely dry at this stage.

00:56The timing of this fire has come as a shock to many.

01:00But firefighters say it's a reminder that fires can start at any time of the year.

01:06This summer is expected to be warmer than usual and people are being urged to update their bushfire plans.

01:13Fire can start in an instant and quickly spread, especially under the conditions that we had today.

01:19Warm temperatures, strong winds.

01:21It needs to act as a wake-up call for all of us.

01:24The wild weather also sparked spot fires in the Illawarra,

01:28with one closing part of the M1 Prince's Motorway at Kanahooka.

01:33Throughout the day 58,000 homes lost power around the state.

01:38In Wollongong CBD an office was evacuated after reports it had been damaged by wind.

01:45And back in Sydney, crews will spend the night mopping up.

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