HUNDREDS of homes were feared destroyed and the premier believes it will be a miracle if no lives are lost in the most grave bushfire crisis NSW has seen in a decade.
While the extent of the devastation was unclear on Thursday night, one of the worst-hit areas was Springwood, in the Blue Mountains, where up to 30 homes were known to be lost.
Elsewhere, thousands of firefighters were struggling against around 100 blazes across the state - on the central coast and further north, the Southern Highlands and the south coast.
Premier Barry O'Farrell and Rural Fire Service Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons told reporters the public should brace for widespread destruction.
"It will take some days until we see the end of these fires," Mr O'Farrell warned.
"I suspect that if we get through that without the loss of life we should thank God for miracles."
Mr Fitzsimmons said firefighters faced the worst of conditions.
"This is as bad as it gets," he said.
It was too soon to estimate how many properties had been lost, but he predicted: "we'll be counting properties in the dozens, if not the hundreds."
RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers said it was one of the worst days he'd seen.
"It's probably the most serious fire risk we've faced since the early 2000s," he said.
For most of the day there were six fires at "emergency warning" level, meaning homes were at risk and residents were being asked to consider fleeing.
Before 6pm, a cool change brought temperatures down from the mid-30s to the mid-teens.
But it also created new chaos, swinging fire fronts around and pushing blazes into new areas.
There were unconfirmed reports of properties being lost at North Doyalson, on the Central Coast; at Lithgow; at Yanderra and Balmoral, in the Southern Highlands; and in Port Stephens, where a fire is burning near Newcastle Airport, which has been closed.
Scores of Blue Mountains residents were seeking refuge at evacuation centres on Thursday night, including the Springwood Sports Club and Springwood Country Club.
Among them was Joe Moore, who was on the phone to his son, a Rural Fire Service volunteer, as he was trying to protect their family home at Springwood.
"All the neighbours were trying (to protect it) and then they got evacuated and my son got to stay back and tried to fight it but it got too much," he told AAP.
It was Mr Moore's "dream home" - and also home to his wife, three sons and four Aboriginal boys in their foster care.
Other Springwood parents were anxious to be reunited with their children, with two schools at Springwood drawn into the drama.
While St Columba's students were kept in their school, St Thomas Aquinas School was evacuated.
Buses were standing-by to take the kids to a safe location to meet their parents when the fire conditions allowed.
At least two firefighters were injured, with one man sent to Sydney's Concord Hospital with burns to his face.
The fires created traffic chaos around Sydney, with a 20km-queue on the Hume Highway for city-bound traffic.
On Thursday night the other most serious fires were burning at Wyong, on the Central Coast, Wandandian in the Shoalhaven, and Muswellbrook in the Hunter Valley.
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