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Thanks for joining us today. You can find a summary of today's events here and follow our fire map throughout the night.
If you have been affected by the fires in the North Coast and Northern NSW areas, register with the Red Cross Register which reunites family and friends following an emergency.
A "state of fire emergency" has been declared across vast swathes of Queensland as firefighters battle multiple fires in "tinderbox-like conditions".
The declaration, effective from 5pm on Saturday, bans the lighting of all types of outdoor fires across 42 local government areas spread throughout south-east, south-west, central, north and far-north Queensland.
It also bans certain potentially fire-causing activities, following what authorities describe as a period of significantly heightened fire weather conditions.
Queensland Fire and Emergency Services acting Commissioner Mike Wassing said: "This declaration is vital to prevent bushfires breaking out and posing a danger to lives and property."
Port Macquarie resident Maria Doherty said she was evacuated from her home on Friday night at 11pm.
"Neighbours came tearing in screaming for us to evacuate," she said.
"We had a day watching from the back fence as helicopter after helicopter dropped water from a local dam repeatedly on fires about a hundred metres from our fence line."
Port Macquarie's sky turned orange and red as the bushfire raged on Friday.
A NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman said conditions will ease slightly on Sunday but will bring little relief to firefighters.
On Sunday, four areas will remain at very high danger levels: the far North Coast, North Coast, New England and Northern Slopes.
"Although we are seeing no dire danger bands, there are many fires across NSW," the spokesman said.
"We've got a long night ahead. The conditions tomorrow, though easing, will still be very tough for our crews," he said.
The Glen Innes Severn Council mayor Carol Sparks said the community was in “shock”.
“Everybody is just upset and anxious,” she said. “We've lost friends and we've lost homes and we've lost our community. It's terrible and it's happening all over the country.
“And yes, it's climate change. This is it. This is what the warnings have been all about. And, you know, it's been met with lacklustre care and attention.”
Cr Sparks said the fires were different to any she had experienced before because the ongoing drought meant the “trees are so dry they're just flaring up and exploding” and there was hardly any water for the firefighters to use.
“We've got these terrible whirling winds that are just gusting and pushing the fire in all directions,” she said.
"The winds mean we can’t get the helicopters up to bucket the water in so basically communities are just left to their own devices.”
Sharon Ashby, her son Nicholas and their two dogs Dexter and Cinnamon have been evacuated from their home on Old Bar Road, NSW, as fires burn out-of-control in the area.
Emergency warnings were in place for fires at Hillville south of Taree and nearby Crowdy Bay National Park on Saturday evening with the local mayor describing the firestorm as "a disaster of magnificent proportions".
Mayor David West cried as he spoke to worried residents - including parents, children and grandchildren - in a local evacuation centre.
"To go into a room of a couple of hundred of people and talk to them, I'm sorry, I broke down and cried, you feel so helpless," the retired policeman said.
A third person has died from the bushfires in the township of Johns River, north of Taree.
Their body was found in a burnt-out building on Saturday afternoon.
Police said in a statement: "The burnt-out home belongs to a woman aged 63, however, a post-mortem examination will be required to confirm identity and cause of death."
"Officers from Manning Great Lakes Police District are speaking with the woman's family, and have initiated inquiries."
Police will prepare a report for the Coroner.
The daughter-in-law of Vivian Chaplain has spoken to Nine News, saying: "I was the last one to speak to her."
"She was in an absolute panic," Chrystal Harwood told Nine News.
"She said ‘We’re on fire, there’s fire everywhere, I need the boys here now’.
"And before I got to tell her to just get out, she’d hung up on me I couldn’t get back through to her.
"I tried so many times."
Ms Chaplain, 69, was found unconscious with burns to 40 to 50 per cent of her body at the Kangawalla Fire near Glen Innes, on the Northern Tablelands on Saturday.
She was taken to hospital but later died.
The Insurance Council of Australia has declared a 'catastrophe' for the bushfires that are tearing through hundreds of homes in northern New South Wales.
Insurance Council Head of Risk and Operations, Karl Sullivan said: “The catastrophe declaration means claims from these bushfires will be prioritised by all insurers, and they will be focusing on reducing the immense emotional and financial stress experienced by residents and businesses.”
Mr Sullivan said many policies included providing emergency accommodation.
“Insurers will be poised to move into these communities once emergency services declare it safe to do so,” he said.
“I urge property owners to do the same — do not return to your home until you are told it is safe.
"These fires are still raging in many areas and have already caused the loss of life. The safety of people is paramount.”
Evacuated inmates from the minimum security Glen Innes Correctional Centre will remain at Grafton Correctional Centre overnight.
The 164 inmates were relocated on Saturday morning as the Kangawalla fire raged nearby.
"Visits to Grafton and Glen Innes correctional centres will be cancelled tomorrow," Corrections NSW spokesperson said.
"Staff will reassess the situation tomorrow to see if inmates can return to Glen Innes.
"There has been no reported structural damage at Glen Innes Correctional Centre."