Properties have been lost and damaged as firefighters continue to battle multiple out-of-control blazes in Tasmania, Victoria and NSW.

There are also fires in South Australia after high temperatures and strong winds swept across Australia’s south-east on Thursday.

All four states remained on high alert for extreme fire conditions in hot, dry, windy weather on Friday.

Sydney’s temperature had climbed to 37.8 degrees by 1pm on Friday, topping the forecast 35 degrees and making  it the city’s hottest day since January 2024. It was even hotter in Sydney’s west, with authorities warning that Saturday was going to be a stinker and no cool change was due until Sunday morning.

Total fire bans have been declared across much of NSW for Saturday. There are already numerous fires burning across the state.

Of most concern on Friday were a fire at Beni, near Dubbo, where up to 25 homes are at threat, and another at Bulahdelah, which has closed part of the Pacific Highway on the mid-north coast.

“That fire is basically burning on what we know is a bit of a convergence of winds — it’s close enough to the coast that we’re getting a bit of a north-easterly wind influence on some of that, but also … it’s still spreading in a north-western direction,” Ben Shepherd from the NSW Rural Fire Service told the ABC.

In Victoria, firefighters were working to contain a 370-hectare bushfire in Markwood, 280 kilometres north-east of Melbourne, which has affected three properties.

Authorities were concerned north-westerly winds of 30 km/h, with gusts up to 70 km/h, could further strengthen on Friday afternoon, potentially increasing fire activity.

On Tasmania’s east coast, crews continued to fight a fire in Dolphin Sands, with a “watch and act” warning in place.

Two firefighters have been treated for minor injuries, and the Tasmanian Fire Service has urged residents who haven’t left to “monitor conditions and be alert for any changes”.

The owner of a shack at Dolphin Sands – a community still recovering after losing properties in the 2023 bushfire – shared a photo on social media of her home going up in flames on Thursday.

“This is our shack…. the place that felt most like home. Gone. So much for Christmas holidays at the beach,” Rhian Shephard wrote, adding in a later post that more homes had since been destroyed in Dolphin Sands.

“We are absolutely devastated. I’m thankful we were not in it when the fire went through,” she told The Mercury newspaper.

A Dolphin Sands shack was destroyed by the fire. Photo: Rhian Shephard / Facebook

Tasmania Fire Service Commissioner Jeremy Smith confirmed 19 homes and shacks had been damaged at Dolphin Sands, along with 15 out-buildings and four vehicles.

“We believe that we have lost a number of structures in that area,” he said. “This number may increase as the crews go through the fire ground, make it safe and assess the damage.”

An evacuation centre remains open at the Swansea Town Hall for residents affected by the Dolphin Sands fire.

Regional fire commander Simon Pilkington said on Friday that crews were focussing efforts on containing the Dolphin Sands fire and another at Glenlusk, north-west of Hobart.

Warnings for several other fires have been downgraded due to a slight improvement in weather conditions overnight.

There are also fires in South Australia, with temperatures topping 40 degrees in the state’s north.

Forecaster Weatherzone said intense heat would linger in the north of SA until Saturday.

“While Adelaide is only forecast to reach 22 degrees on Saturday, some northern pastoral areas could reach the high-40s on Saturday afternoon,” it said.

–with AAP