Thousands of motorists are already streaming out of the South Coast, which the RFS has previously instructed holidaymakers to leave. The Rural Fire Service has told holidaymakers to evacuate an area stretching from Batemans Bay to the Victorian border. Senior RFS spokesman Ben Shepherd told The Sydney Morning Herald that staff were going door-to-door urging people who did not have to be in the region to leave. "We don't want a large population in the region," he said. Traffic queue for petrol at a Shell service station on Beach Road in Batemans Bay. Earlier on Thursday the station had run out of diesel. Credit:Kate Geraghty

But the fire-ravaged area has become the land of queues: for food, water and petrol. Road closures are slowing efforts to get people out too. A lack of power has prevented many petrol stations in the area from pumping, although supplies are returning as generators come online and power is restored to some towns. In the far south of the state, towns are forecast to come under threat on Saturday from the border fires that have already devastated Victorian holiday towns including Mallacoota. One man has already been confirmed dead following the horror fires in the East Gippsland region of Victoria, and Premier Daniel Andrews said on Thursday there are grave fears for another 17 people who are unaccounted for. Fires in the South Coast region are still burning — including the one that caused this flare up on Wednesday — with some out of control, despite the cooler conditions. Credit:Kate Geraghty

The Snowy Mountains region is bracing for the weekend. Power is down in the town of Tumbarumba on the edge of the area — it lies between the Dunns Road fire to the east and the Green Valley fire to the west, both of which were at a watch and act level at 3pm on Thursday. National Parks has ordered an evacuation of the Kosciuszko National Park, including the resorts at Thredbo. "All people ... must exit Kosciuszko National Park boundaries before the deadline of 10am ... Friday," the evacuation order reads. "This is not a fire season that NSW has seen before. It is hotter and drier than we have previously experienced," it says. Mike Kelly, whose electorate covers much of the South Coast area under threat, said he had never seen things this bad. "There is nowhere in my electorate that isn’t being touched," he said. He acknowledged the bravery of those that chose to stay and fight, but urged people to leave.

"The priority should be to get out of there ... we’ve lost too many people already," Mr Kelly said. He cautioned that the dynamics of megafires were unpredictable, as evidenced by the fire-driven cloud that flipped a 10 tonne RFS truck and killed father-to-be Samuel McPaul on Monday. Loading Nationally more than 100 fires are still burning, with more than half yet to be contained. In the devastated towns of Lake Conjola and Sussex Inlet between Ulladulla and Nowra, police are escorting some residents along roads that otherwise remain closed to the public. Rugby legend Ron Coote and his wife Robin told of the loss of their home of three decades in Lake Conjola, where Robin was forced to swim for an hour to escape the flames before being rescued by jet ski.

"My daughter Natalie said, 'Mum, you've got to jump in the water'," Mrs Coote said. She and her husband are angry they were forced to remain in the area, which has scant supplies, as authorities worked to clear the roads. The RFS confirmed almost 400 homes had been lost in NSW in the latest fire crisis, with about 1300 homes destroyed since the start of the season. Fifteen people have died so far in NSW, with 3.6 million hectares burnt. One of two firefighters who died earlier in the season was farewelled on Thursday, with Prime Minister Scott Morrison attending the service of Geoff Keaton, who died on December 19. Hundreds attended the funeral of RFS member Geoff Keaton, who died south of Sydney on December 19. Credit:NSW RFS

Mr Morrison said it was important to remember Mr Keaton's "great sacrifice and tremendous service". Loading The Prime Minister also acknowledged a link between climate change and the dryness and heat that has exacerbated this fire season. "We've always acknowledged the link between the broader issues of global climate change and what that means for the world's weather and the dryness of conditions in many places," Mr Morrison told journalists. He said Australia would beat its emissions targets, which Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese has criticised as an "accounting fiddle" and says does not do enough to address the issue.

The primary route out of the South Coast is through Bega and the Snowy Mountain Highway to Cooma and then Canberra. The Pacific Highway to the north was open earlier with severe speed limit restrictions but was closed again this afternoon. Huge queues are facing motorists trying to get fuel from Batemans Bay and drive on to safer areas. Credit:Kate Geraghty Petrol supplies are stretched on the coast. Diesel has been particularly scarce on the South Coast because it is used by many emergency services vehicles and to run generators, with the Caltex outlets at Merimbula and Moruya out of the fuel. "Supply at Moruya is currently limited due to road access, however we are working with emergency services for escorted access this afternoon to replenish supply," a Caltex spokesman said. Optus and Telstra are working to restore service in the region. An Optus spokesman said the company had restored coverage in areas including Batemans Bay, Moruya and Sussex Inlet.