NSW firefighters are in a "race against time" to control three massive bushfires in the state's north before conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend.
Warnings for the blazes at Bees Nest near Armidale, Drake near Tenterfield, and Shark Creek in the Clarence Valley were on Wednesday downgraded to 'advice' levels after the threat eased overnight.
Emergency alerts had been issued for two-of-the-three fires but easing winds helped fire crews get the upper hand and slow their spread.
But the fires are so big - especially the blazes near Armidale and Tenterfield - that it could take days or even weeks to bring them under control, NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said.
"It'll be a bit of a race against time to try and get as much containment as we can on the fires ahead of the worsening conditions," he told the Nine Network.
"The short of it is, we're not out of the woods yet."
While conditions were better on Wednesday, winds and temperatures are forecast to pick up on the weekend.
Authorities say early signals for Monday and Tuesday are also concerning, with indications that the state could see severe - or higher - fire danger ratings early in the week.
Nine homes have been destroyed along with 34 outbuildings. Most of the losses occurred at the Drake fire.
Disaster assistance was on Wednesday extended to communities in the Bellingen local government area as the Bees Nest fire continues to burn.
The blaze has razed more than 75,650 hectares and is still burning close to homes and properties, but activity has eased.
The Long Gully Road blaze at Drake has burnt more than 43,400ha and continues to spread in a number of directions due to winds and local terrain, but conditions have also eased.
Meanwhile, the Shark Creek fire has torn through more than 9000ha.
On Wednesday afternoon, 42 bush and grass fires were burning across NSW - 24 of them uncontained.
NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian visited the firegrounds on Wednesday to see the damage first hand.
She received a briefing in Glen Innes with Deputy Premier John Barilaro and Emergency Services Minister David Elliott, before heading to Tenterfield, Drake and Tyringham.
The premier said it was sobering and humbling to meet people who lost property, and she was "extremely worried" ahead of the summer season.
"What keeps me awake at night at the moment is the deep drought," she told reporters in Tenterfield.
"And what we're seeing today in towns like Tenterfield is this has come off the back of deep drought and off the back of very trying conditions already and that's why we're especially worried about the community."
Australian Associated Press
