Bushfires raged across several locations in the Hunter and Central Coast. The skies turned orange and smoke was seen from most vantage points in the city. Fires ravaged more than 33,000 hectares in the region, but the inferno was felt across the state.

The NSW Premier Barry O'Farrell declared a state of emergency on October 20. The fires were said to be the worst in the state since the 1960s.

2013 REPORTS