Last weekend saw horrific danger descend on the state's north, claiming three lives and destroying more than 100 homes in terrifying fashion.
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Today, the Hunter braces for fire conditions classed as catastrophic by NSW Fire and Rescue, the same body who on Monday gained additional powers through the declaration of a state of emergency.
"For your survival, leaving early is the only option," the NSW Rural Fire Service says of catastrophic conditions.
"Make a decision about when you will leave, where you will go, how you will get there and when you will return.
"Homes are not designed to withstand fires in catastrophic conditions so you should leave early."
The scale of the threat has been writ large across northern NSW in recent days. Reserves and even the University of Newcastle's leafy Callaghan campus have closed, testament to how seriously institutions are taking the danger posed on Tuesday.
As the region prepared and firefighters strained to keep even further horrors at bay, several of the state's leaders on Monday sidestepped the matter of climate change.
"If this is the time people want to talk about climate change, they are a bloody disgrace," Mr Barilaro told ABC Radio. "It is an absolute disgrace to be talking about climate change while we have lost lives and assets, and I make no apology for that."
Certainly, protecting lives and property must remain the priority while the walls of flame pour smoke visible from space and threaten our communities.
That is why the NSW Rural Fire Service has been given state of emergency powers to handle emerging threats.
Yet those who face loss on the scale NSW is witnessing deserve answers about how this unprecedented crisis arrived at their doorstep, about why their homes are gone and loved ones in peril. Those answers are crucial if it means a repeat can be avoided or mitigated.
This hellish season follows winter bushfires in Salt Ash in recent years. Former Fire and Rescue NSW commissioner and Climate Council member Greg Mullins was unequivocal about the appropriateness of climate change questions in yesterday's Sydney Morning Herald.
"If not now, then when," he asked.
'If anyone tells you, "This is part of a normal cycle" or "We've had fires like this before", smile politely and walk away, because they don't know what they're talking about."
One thing that is certainly not in question is the bravery of those who have travelled towards the fire grounds to fight them tirelessly. While the full scale of the tragedy unfolds as fires abate, we already know that it would likely have been far worse without their selflessness and commitment.
We thank all our firefighters for their altruism, and stand united with them in hoping the threat will be short-lived and held at bay.