Australian authorities urge thousands to flee New South Wales bushfires

Firefighters work at the site where a bushfire destroyed homes along Glenrock Parade, in Koolewong on the Central Coast of New South Wales, Australia, December 6, 2025. -- Photo: AAP/Dan Himbrechts via REUTERS

SYDNEY (Reuters): Wildfires in Australia's New South Wales burnt through thousands of hectares of bushland on Saturday, prompting the authorities to urge evacuations at the highest danger rating for thousands of residents in the nation's most populous state.

The alert was for the Phegans Bay and Woy Woy area in the state's central coast region, with a population of more than 350,000 people, about 45 km (30 miles) north of the state capital Sydney, Australia's largest city.