Thousands more have fled their homes in Australia amid fears wildfires raging across the country will become even more devastating over the weekend.

Concerns over the more than 200 fires burning and warnings of extreme danger to come prompted mass evacuations across the country on Friday.

The country is bracing for the crisis to worsen on Saturday as 40C temperatures and strong winds are expected to have devastating consequences.

Mark Jones, chief officer of the South Australian Country Fire Service, said weather conditions were a cause for concern because some fires were still burning or smouldering.

He said: “The ignition sources are already there. There are millions of sparks out there ready to go if they break containment lines.”

Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Show all 40 1 /40 Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter hosing down trees and flying embers in an effort to secure nearby houses from bushfires near the town of Nowra in the state of New South Wales on 31 December 2019 AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billows from a huge bushfire that has torched over 200,000 acres of land in East Gipplsand, Victoria on 2 January EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Residents look on as flames tear through bushland in Lake Tabouriee, Australia on 4 January on 4 January Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Boats are pulled ashore as smoke and wildfires rage behind Lake Conjola on 2 January Robert Oerlemans via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighting helicopter tackles a bushfire in East Gippsland, Victoria on 31 December EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter gives water to a parched koala in Cudlee Creek, South Australia AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters tackle a blaze as it tears through a farm in New South Wales on 21 December AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The sky is turned red over East Gippsland as fires continue to rage through Australian bushland on 4 January Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A kangaroo near bushfires in Nowra AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures An aerial view of a bushfire near Bairnsdale State Government of Victoria/EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters work to tackle a blaze on the outskirts of Sydney on 31 December 2019 Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighting helicopter dumps water on a bushfire on the outskirts of the town of Bargo near Sydney Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Children play at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A satellite image of the Batemans Bay showing smoke and fire from wild bushfires European Union, Copernicus Sentinel Data via REUTERS Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The afternoon sky glows red from bushfires in Nowra AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Burning embers cover the ground as firefighters battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The sky glows red as bushfires continue to rage in Mallacoota, Victoria Jonty Smith via Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The remains of burnt out buildings along a main street in the New South Wales town of Cobargo AFP/Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters try to protect homes around Charmhaven, New South Wales NSW Rural Fire Service/AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Wildfires rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale Glen Morey via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Business owners stand in front of their shop which was destroyed by a bushfire in Cobargo EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A helicopter dumping water on a fire in Victoria's East Gippsland region Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning/AFP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Think smoke from bushfires fills the air in eastern Gippsland Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures "Carmelised" snow caused by dust from Australian bushfires is seen near Franz Josef glacier in the Westland Tai Poutini National Park, New Zealand Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Firefighters hose down trees as they battle against bushfires around the town of Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland, Victoria. More than 800,000 hectares have been burnt in East Gippsland EPA/DELWP Gippsland Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke billowing from a fire burning at East Gippsland EPA/DELWP Gippsland Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Fire clouds are formed over the mountains' range near Bredbo, New South Wale, Australia December December 31, 2019. Picture taken December 31, 2019. LIFES.A.BREEZE via REUTERS THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT. NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES. LIFES.A.BREEZE LIFES.A.BREEZE via Reuters Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Smoke and wildfire rage behind Lake Conjola Robert Oerlemans via AP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A house and van are seen destroyed after bushfires ravaged the town of Bilpin, west of Sydney AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A helicopter fighting a bushfire near Bairnsdale in Victoria's East Gippsland region State Government of Victoria/AFP Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Fire and Rescue personal run to move their truck as a bushfire burns next to a major road and homes on the outskirts of the town of Bilpin Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Amy, left, and Ben Spencer sit at the showgrounds in the southern New South Wales town of Bega where they are camping after being evacuated from nearby sites affected by bushfires AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures A firefighter sprays foam retardant on a back burn ahead of a fire front in the New South Wales town of Jerrawangala AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Two bushfires approach a home located on the outskirts of the town of Bargo Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Property damaged by the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield, Victoria EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Nowra AFP via Getty Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures Property under threat from the East Gippsland fires in Sarsfield EPA Devastating wildfires rage across Australia: In pictures The main street of the New South Wales town of Bombala is pictured shrouded in smoke from nearby bushfires AFP via Getty

The Australian navy was called in to rescue about 1,000 stranded tourists and residents from beaches in the town of Mallacoota on the Victoria coast on Friday.

Landing craft ferried people to the HMAS Choules offshore.

Evacuees waiting to board the ship described smoke and embers flying everywhere when the fires were at their worst.

“It’s just scary waiting,” Dani Barmeister told Channel Nine.

Darren Chester, MP for Gippsland, in Victoria, called it an “unprecedented mass relocation of civilians”.

Victoria premier Daniel Andrews declared a disaster across much of the eastern part of the state, which allowed the government to order evacuations in an area with 140,000 permanent residents and tens of thousands of holidaymakers.

In New South Wales, a state of emergency and a total fire ban have been declared.

Wildfire rage under plumes of smoke in Bairnsdale, Australia (AP)

State Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers urged people not to delay leaving, noting four people in the state died in their cars as they made late attempts to flee.

“We need people to stay focused,” he said. “Tomorrow is not the day to drop your guard.”

The early start to Australia’s summer wildfires has already burnt about 5 million hectares of land, left at least 19 people dead, and destroyed more than 1,400 homes.

This week, at least 445 homes were destroyed on the New South Wales southern coast and dozens were burnt in Victoria.

Ten deaths have been confirmed in the two states this week, and Victoria authorities also said 28 people are missing.

Fires are also burning in Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison said he was inclined to cancel a scheduled trip to India later this month because of the wildfires.

In December, he cut short a family holiday in Hawaii in the face of public anger at his absence.

He made the remarks in Bairnsdale, Victoria, where he received a warmer welcome than he had in the wildfire-ravaged village of Cobargo, in New South Wales, a day earlier.

The prime minister cut short Thursday’s visit when locals yelled at him, called him an “idiot” and criticised him for the lack of equipment to deal with fires in the village.

A firefighter, who lost his home in the fires, was also captured on camera refusing to shake Mr Morrison’s hand.

A father and son died in a blaze while defending their home in the village on Monday.

The 19-month-old son of a volunteer firefighter who died while tackling bushfires received his father’s posthumous bravery medal during his funeral on Thursday.

Geoffrey Keaton and his colleague Andrew O’Dwyer were killed when a tree hit their fire truck, causing it to roll off the road near Buxton, southwestern Sydney, in December.

Volunteer firefighter Samuel McPaul, who was expecting his first child with his wife, was also killed in a separate incident when his truck rolled over in extreme winds.

Smoke from the wildfires has also choked air quality and turned daytime skies to near-nighttime darkness in the worst-hit areas.

Sydney University ecologist Chris Dickman told the Sydney Morning Herald nearly 500 million birds, reptiles and mammals are likely to have perished in New South Wales alone.

Frogs, bats and insects are excluded from his estimate, making the toll on animals much greater.