Canberra Airport was closed to commercial flights as two fires burning to its south-east, the Kallaroo fire and the Pialligo Redwood Forest fire, merged to form the Beard fire. The airport reopened just after 6pm. At 5.30pm, three fires were still burning at "emergency level": the Clyde Mountain fire in the Eurobodalla region; the Glen Allen area fire in the Snowy Mountains; and the Badja Forest Road fire, burning over a large area between the Bega and Moruya areas. Loading Replay Replay video Play video Play video A "watch and act" alert was issued just after 4pm for the Adaminaby Complex fire, which has burnt through 93,650 hectares north-west of Cooma. The fire was earlier burning at an emergency level. The Beard fire was also burning at emergency level but was moved to "watch and act" late in the afternoon.

Three other fires were burning at "watch and act" level: at Mirrie Road, Boomley, north-east of Dubbo; the Good Good fire in Snowy Monaro; and the Morton fire near Bundanoon. In Bundanoon, a local crew was "burnt over" while trying to defend homes. Flames engulfed the crew's truck before they escaped in a different vehicle. Mild damage was done to the truck and the firefighters escaped unharmed, however the home they were defending was lost. A local fire crew were "burnt over" as they tried to save a home in Bundanoon on Thursday. Credit:Nick Moir Sydney swelters before possible storms As bushfires flared around the state, Sydney residents felt the heat as the mercury reached 41.3 degrees in the CBD just after 2.30pm. The temperature reached 43.7 degrees at Sydney Airport at 3:19pm.

In the afternoon, the Bureau of Meteorology was expecting gusty storms across much of the state, particularly the northern parts. "Those storms could have damaging wind gusts, large hail or even heavy bursts of rain," said BOM forecaster David Wilkie. "Across much of NSW, including to the coast, we could see storms becoming severe with significant wind gusts." There were wind gusts of 96 km/h at Bombala, 83km/h at Canberra, 74 km/h at Bega and 57km/h in Richmond. "A frontal system is moving south of the continent today, and associated with that we have a trough moving through NSW - ahead of the trough, we're experiencing hot conditions and very strong winds," Mr Wilkie said.

The stronger winds were helping to elevate some of the dust in western NSW and push it towards the east, he said. "We've already seen a number of observations across NSW of visibility reduced ... the expectation is we'll see that dust move through the coast this afternoon." There are no total fire bans for Friday, with each of the state's 21 fire areas graded at either low, moderate or high fire danger. A weak southerly change arriving early on Friday morning will drop temperatures to the mid-20s and bring possible showers.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said conditions on the ground had improved over the past week due to rainfall, but not all fire-affected communities had enjoyed a drenching. A weak plume rises from the Wombeyan Caves area as hot north-westerly winds flare up the southern flank of the Green Wattle Creek fire. Credit:Nick Moir Mr Fitzsimmons said fires on Sydney's perimeter – including the large Gospers Mountain and Green Wattle Creek fires – had the potential to deteriorate, while the NSW South Coast would be closely monitored. "In that widespread rainfall there's been different levels of rain, different amounts of rain which have had different effects," Mr Fitzsimmons said. "There's every potential for flare-ups and new ignitions."

With staff writers, AAP