As devastating fires across northern NSW and Queensland threaten lives, properties and destroy massive swathes of land, Canberra authorities warn of similar conditions closer to home.
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NSW premier Gladys Berejiklian declared a state of emergency for the whole of NSW on Monday with a week of trying conditions ahead.
Three people have lost their lives, more than 150 properties have been destroyed and more than 850,000 hectares have been burned.
The ACT Rural Fire Service deployed a second crew of 16 people on Monday to relieve an earlier ACT crew deployed to assist NSW firefighters.
While the ACT is not currently facing any imminent threats, conditions in and around the territory are conducive to hugely destructive fires.
ACT Rural Fire Service chief officer Joe Murphy said Canberrans should be "very concerned" about the fires up north which he said were "without precedent".
"This should be a clear wake up to our community to start preparing in case the worst happens here," chief officer Murphy said.
"If we get a significant fire in bush areas, it's going to go hard."
He said the lack of rain meant firefighters were presented with a very dry landscape that would need a significant amount of rain to improve.
Volunteer firefighter with the Queanbeyan Rural Fire Service, Richard Thorek, has battled plenty of big fires in his 13 years volunteering, including the Currandooley fire in 2017.
But even still he said he was "lost for words" at the scale of the fires currently burning across the country.
"You start to remember the noise and the smoke and how dark it gets in the middle of the day," Mr Thorek said.
"But this seems different."
Queanbeyan will also deploy support for firefighters in the north of the state.
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Mr Thorek said while conditions nearby were not as concerning as up north the fire danger was still listed as very high.
He said while firefighters were not scared or overly worried, there was a sense of anticipation for what could be a difficult bushfire season.
"It's feels like the big breath in," he said.
Chief officer Murphy said it was essential people do their bit to keep the community safe from fire.
"We understand we can't stop a lightning strike, but we need people to do their part to not introduce fire into the landscape," he said.
"If there's a fire ban, don't go have a barbecue. Take a cooked chook and a salad and you can have just as good a time without fire."
He added that Canberrans need to develop a bushfire survival plan, stick to it and not second guess the decisions made.
There was no total fire ban in the ACT on Monday but the fire danger forecast was very high for Tuesday.
