Up to 20 buildings, including homes, have been destroyed overnight by the bushfires that continue to rage through New South Wales.
A "60- to 70-metre" tower of flame, larger than an 18-storey building, was spotted burning through the trees of the Blue Mountains.
Many firefighters have lost their properties as they abandon their homes to help others elsewhere.
One volunteer firefighter in Mount Tomah, a locality in the Blue Mountains' region, found his buildings and business reduced to ash.
"I wasn't making any money in the first place, so now with this gone... you can't do anything... what are you going to do?" Sam Ramaci told Newshub.
The Gospers Mountain fire has been burning for weeks, flaring up to emergency level on Sunday night.
The fire is already much larger than Sydney and efforts to contain it are proving futile.
This was supposed to be a reprieve for firefighters, with conditions set to get worse this week.
"Yesterday wasn't even a bad fire - it was a pretty ordinary day. For firefighters in that terrain, it's very dangerous," Rob Rogers from the Rural Fire Service said.
A heatwave will hit New South Wales on Thursday. The scorching conditions have already arrived in Perth, with temperatures soaring into the 40s. Even the cricket was affected by the extreme heat last week - and the city is not free of fires either.
North of Perth, a bushfire emergency is burning in Yanchep National Park.
Conditions are continuing to change rapidly, the heat and wind currently spreading east.
"When we came down here five minutes ago, there was no fire," one local firefighter said.
From Western Australia to New South Wales, Australia continues to battle the blazes from coast to coast.
