Australia is bracing itself for another week of devastating fires after emergency services warned that weather conditions could fuel the deadly flames.

Three people were killed and more than 150 homes were destroyed in the state of New South Wales as an unprecedented series of fires ripped through areas rendered exceptionally dry after a two-year drought.

While cooler weather eased some of the immediate pressure yesterday, the authorities warned of "catastrophic" fire conditions ahead, including around Sydney.

With over 70 fires already burning across the state, the New South Wales Rural Fire Service warned that it would not be able to contain them all before the weather worsened. By tomorrow, it expects a broad swathe of the state to be facing an extreme fire risk, including the outskirts of Sydney.

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