FIREFIGHTERS are scrambling to get the upper hand on dozens of bushfires raging across the region today, as they prepare for the deadly conditions predicted for Tuesday.
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More than 500 firefighters took advantage of a slight easing in conditions on Sunday, putting in hard containment lines along roads and back burning where possible.
Those same conditions are expect to stretch through to Monday, however the Rural Fire Service (RFS) is very concerned about the severe-to-extreme conditions predicted for Tuesday.
Temperatures are expected to hit the mid-30s, while hot and dry winds will blow from the north east to create a dangerous situation that could lead to fires flaring up.
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The RFS warned residents to use Monday to prepare for the upcoming danger.
"The key message from us at this point in time is that people need to have a bushfire survival plan in hand, and know what to do if the situation changes," RFS spokeswoman Angela Burford said.
"Residents need to use this time to prepare their properties, and that may mean packing the car and being ready to leave.
"We saw in the last couple of days, things can change extremely quickly. People need to make a plan, and if the plan is to leave, leave early in the day."
Fires are still threatening a number of communities to east and south east of Glen Innes, and south east of Armidale.
WEEKEND FIRES CLAIM LIVES AND HOMES
A TOTAL fire ban has been declared across the state, as firefighters battle against multiple fires in the region that have already claimed four lives and destroyed about 100 homes.
The Rural Fires Service (RFS) has urged residents to stay up to date on fire conditions, as the situation can change rapidly.
The Kangawalla fire east of Glen Innes has claimed two lives and destroyed much of Wytaliba, including the school.
Police have begun an investigation on behalf of the Coroner after a body was found in a burnt-out vehicle on Saturday, near Wytaliba, about 50km east of Glen Innes.
Meanwhile, a woman who was found unconscious on Friday night with burns to 40 to 50 per cent of her body at a property on Old Grafton Road, died in Concord Hospital on Saturday morning.
NSW Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said firefighters gave the woman CPR for several hours on Friday night before paramedics could arrive.
"Despite the very best efforts of all involved we are advised this morning that that lady has passed away in hospital as a result of her injuries," he said.
Seven people had been hospitalised in Glen Innes by the blaze that has destroyed much of Wytaliba, including its school. Glen Innes Severn Council mayor Carol Sparks lost a house she had in the village, as the blaze burnt through 60 properties.
Nine residents were still unaccounted for early Saturday afternoon, but that number was reduced to two later in the day.
Meanwhile most of the 35 residents who had been taken to an evacuation centre at the Glen Innes Showground had found temporary accommodation, while a few were able to return home.
RFS confirmed a woman's body was found inside a fire-ravaged home at Johns River, south of Port Macquarie.
A man in his 60s died after rolling his car while driving through thick smoke on Friday evening about 30km inland from Nambucca Heads.
More than a dozen homes have been destroyed in the Stockyard Flat blaze, west of Walcha, near Yarrowitch.
The blaze has burnt 72,000 hectares in four days and caused a 50-year-old man to suffer serious burns while trying to protect his property.
The fire is burning on multiple fronts in the Oxley Wild River National Park and has joined the Mines Road fire to the east, and the Carrai Creek fire to the north.