NSW Emergency Services Minister David Elliott, who went on a European holiday during the ongoing bushfire crisis, has labelled his absence "inexcusable".

Key points: Mr Elliott said he "should have put [his] RFS family first"

Mr Elliott said he "should have put [his] RFS family first" NSW is in a State of Emergency, bracing for catastrophic conditions on Saturday

NSW is in a State of Emergency, bracing for catastrophic conditions on Saturday The NSW bushfire death toll rose to 17 on Friday

Mr Elliott had been away in Europe as the bushfires ravaged much of the country and his state of New South Wales.

On Friday night, he tagged himself in a social media post as being at the NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) and admitted his decision to leave the country for a holiday was not the right one.

"Just received the evening briefing from Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers ahead of tomorrow's Statewide Total Fire Ban and Extreme Fire Danger," Mr Elliott posted on his Facebook account.

"My absence over the last week was inexcusable.

"I should have put my RFS family first and foremost given the current conditions [even my own family acknowledge that] and now it's time to get back to work."

Mr Elliott went on to say he is most concerned for some of the areas that have already been decimated by the bushfires raging across the state, with catastrophic conditions predicted at the weekend.

"The areas of most concern tomorrow are the South Coast, Wollondilly and Snowy Mountains and we will have 3,000 firefighters in the Area of Operations with a further 600 on standby to be deployed at short notice," Mr Elliott wrote.

Evacuees on a beach at Batemans Bay amid bushfires across the NSW South Coast. ( Twitter: Alastairprior )

"On top of that we have 104 aircraft providing air support to the more than 700 appliances.

"The good news is that after tomorrow's extreme weather we should have a week of milder conditions which should provide relief to the firefighters and an opportunity to start the process of containment."

At a press conference on Saturday morning, Mr Elliott was asked if he planned to resign.

"I came back to step up, not step down," he said.

The RFS had already said that Saturday will be a "bad day".

RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers warned southern areas of New South Wales would be in the most danger.

"It is likely we will see some areas during the day reach the catastrophic forecast, particularly in the southern part of New South Wales," he said.

"Obviously we are gearing up to that and while it is rated extreme it is in the upper end of extreme and it will be a bad day. Whatever the rating is, it will be pretty bad."

Much of Cobargo, New South Wales, has been destroyed. ( Supplied )

Deputy Commissioner Rogers said authorities were as ready as they would ever be.

"This state of readiness for New South Wales can't be matched anywhere. We are as ready as we can be," he said.

The fears for the catastrophic weekend conditions come as the NSW death toll rose to 17 on Friday.

Authorities announced a man had died from injuries he sustained in a fire in the Northern Tablelands last year.

It is believed the 59-year-old man suffered serious burns after taking shelter in a water tank during the Stockyards Flat fire in November.

He was airlifted to the Royal North Shore Hospital for treatment but died on Sunday.

So far since Monday, eight people have died.