Katherine BiekFirefighters are battling about 100 bush fires that are raging across Australia's east coast.
The fires in New South Wales are being fanned by a record heat wave. Australia broke its own heat records two days in a row earlier this week, with its maximum temperature reaching 107.4 degrees Fahrenheit on Wednesday.
And meteorologists believe the extreme heat is going to get worse. Those forecasts prompted local government officials to declare a seven-day state of emergency. New South Wales residents were last under a state of emergency back in November for "catastrophic" fire conditions.
Fire crews have already classified a couple of the fires currently burning near the outskirts of Sydney as "out of control." They've warned residents that it's too late to evacuate and that they need to take shelter from the flames.
In addition to the state of emergency, officials have also enacted a statewide total fire ban. It'll remain in place until midnight Saturday.
Additional reporting from Newsy affiliate CNN.
