Lightning storms spark bushfires in NSW

Coastal NSW looks set to get a dose of the record-breaking hot temperatures seen
throughout the state's inland, as lightning storms and winds spark numerous
bushfires.
Temperatures at some centres in western NSW continued to climb late on Friday
afternoon, while a lightning storm passed over the Blue Mountains starting an
unknown number of new fires.
Those storms also knocked out power supply to homes and businesses.
Some 9,000 addresses on Sydney's northern beaches and some on the Central Coast were
without power because of the storms, EnergyAustralia said in a statement.
Meanwhile, the Rural Fire Service (RFS) is battling numerous blazes, fanned by winds
up to 60km/h, while metropolitan fire crews fight house fires believed started by
lightning at Castle Cove and Campbelltown in Sydney.
The bushfires of most concern are at Bilpin in the Hawkesbury region, burning
through about 150 hectares of inaccessible, steep national park terrain, RFS
Assistant Commissioner Rob Rogers told AAP.
"They are not going to be put out in a hurry, they are going to burn for some time,"
Mr Rogers said of the major fires.
"All up, we're looking at more than 80 fires burning (in NSW). We are working fairly
hard at the moment, just trying to keep them as small as possible."
Bourke, in west NSW, on Thursday recorded its hottest November day, peaking at 46.2
degrees, Bureau of Meteorology senior forecaster Jane Golding said.
That record had not been broken at 4pm (AEDT) Friday but Ms Golding said
temperatures were still rising.
Despite an extension of fire bans, which left only the far north coast, New England
and the north coast free of bans, parts of the state will get some relief from the
heat on Saturday.
"We've got a bank of cloud which is meant to build up across the southwest of the
state," Ms Golding told AAP.
"All of the places in the southwest of the state look like they will be getting 10
degrees lower than the last few days."
On Saturday a sea breeze will keep coastal NSW milder but that relief will disappear
on Sunday.
"Sunday for Sydney looks like a really hot day," Ms Golding said.
"Sydney, Newcastle, Wollongong and the eastern quarter of the state looks like it's
going to be very hot, without any sea breeze, meaning it may be the hottest it has
been for some time at close to 40 degrees on the coast."
As the heatwave continues, authorities warn of poor air quality that may affect
people with asthma or other respiratory conditions.
NSW Health said ozone pollution got worse on hot, still days, and advised people to
stay indoors if possible.