Four emergency warnings for fires burning between the NSW-Victorian border and Nowra on the South Coast remained in place on Saturday night, as firefighters continued to battle difficult conditions.
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The Currowan, Good Good, Poole Road and Border fires were all listed at emergency level at 9.30pm on Saturday night.
The Charleys Forest fire was downgraded to watch-and-act status on Saturday night.
The Currowan fire, which covered more than 280,000 hectares, continued to burn between Batemans Bay and Nowra on the coast and to the east of Braidwood. It was downgraded to watch-and-act status after 9pm.
The NSW Rural Fire Service said fire activity had increased across the fire ground on Saturday, and was burning east towards the coast.
A southerly change on Saturday night drove an increase in fire activity, pushing the fire to the north.
The change reached Nowra with gusts of 75km/h recorded about 7.40pm, the RFS said.
The fire crossed the Shoalhaven River on Saturday and burned into the Kangaroo Valley.
The Clyde Mountain fire was also pushed northwards by the southerly change, threatening North Batemans Bay, Surfside, South Durras, Maloneys Beach and Long Beach.
At 6.25pm, the NSW Rural Fire Service warned a fire-generated thunderstorm had formed over the Werri Berri and Badja Forest Road fire, west of Bega.
"This is a very dangerous situation. Monitor the conditions around you and take appropriate action," the service said.
Fire-generated thunderstorms create dry lighting that spark further fires
Residents in the Eurobodolla Shire Council were told to stay in place overnight while the RFS continued to monitor fire activity.
The local emergency operations controller for the council, Greg Flood, thanked residents for their co-operation and courage.
An update from the council would be issued at 10am on Sunday.
Intermittent road closures are still possible along the coast. Authorities continued to remind people to be mindful of emergency vehicles.
Large sections of the Princes Highway also remained closed.
Nowra MP Gareth Ward posted a picture from suburban Meroo Meadow on Facebook, showing the fire's path north-west of Nowra.
The Shoalhaven Rural Fire Service district manager, superintendent Mark Williams, said the Currowan fire had created a smoke column up to six kilometres high.
"If the cloud keeps forming, it can create a pyro-cumulonimbus incident which can create its own thunderstorm activity including dry lightning," he said.
"If that happens, it ends up collapsing back to the ground. Erratic wind conditions on the ground in all directions can be created. The weather event can blow the fire in all directions over great distances in a short period of time.
"That is a significant concern to us. It is one of the most dangerous situations for a wildfire fighter to encounter."
A pyro-cumulonimbus formed over Batemans Bay on New Year's Eve.
Jasper Lindell
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
Jasper Lindell joined The Canberra Times in 2018. He is a Legislative Assembly reporter, covering ACT politics and government. He also writes about development, transport, heritage, local history, literature and the arts, as well as contributing to the Times' Panorama magazine. He was previously a Sunday Canberra Times reporter.
