Residents of Tenterfield, NSW, are on high alert over bushfires encircling the town on Tuesday afternoon, as extreme winds fanned flames across two states, and ripped roofs off buildings in Sydney.

Four emergency warnings were issued for blazes around Tenterfield early on Tuesday afternoon as the fire front quickly shifted under strong, gusty westerly winds.

While the fires were still some way from the township, multiple rural properties were under threat, Rural Fire Service Commissioner Rob Rogers said.

“There are a number of properties that are going to be threatened this afternoon from all those fires,” he told ABC News.

“They’re very, very active. We’ve seen strong, gusty winds of 40, 50km/h.”

The deteriorating conditions also threatened to help a dangerous Queensland blaze jump the state border 15km north of Tenterfield.

The Glen Innes RSL and Tenterfield Showground were opened to accommodate locals leaving before the forecast of extreme fire danger.

NSW fire crews were also concerned about the reactivation of the large Glens Creek Road fire southwest of Grafton, which was elevated to emergency warning level after jumping containment lines.

Firefighters and aircraft continue to protect properties in the area.

“It’s going to be a really tense afternoon for both firefighters and residents,” Mr Rogers said.

“We’ve got hours still to go of these conditions of hot winds, warm temperature, low humidity – all that is making firefighting both dangerous for firefighters and residents.”

A cool change is expected to cross the fire ground at 6pm local time.

But it could take several more hours for the fuels to absorb the moisture and calm fire behaviour, Mr Rogers said.

More than 500 firefighters are working across the state.

Seven areas have total fire bans in place on Tuesday, including greater Sydney and the Hunter and Illawarra/Shoalhaven regions.

Extreme fire danger ratings are also in place in three districts along the Queensland border from New England to the west.

At midday on Tuesday, there were 77 fires burning across the state, 24 of which were yet to be contained.

Firefighters earlier battled a number of small grass and bushfires that broke out on Sydney’s outskirts in the morning as powerful winds whipped through the city’s west and south.

Qld evacuations

In Queensland, residents were told to “leave immediately” at Tara, Montrose North, Wieambilla and The Gums, as more houses came under threat in one of the toughest days yet for fatigued crews.

More destroyed homes were discovered in the Tara region, with the total now sitting at 53.

Rural Fire Service Queensland Inspector Joe Cullen said crews were working with landowners wherever possible, but safety was their highest priority. He urged residents to heed emergency warnings.

“With conditions today these are the type of fires that will take life,” he says.

“If people remain in place and are unprepared, they shouldn’t expect us to be there on the spot.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, visiting Queensland on Tuesday, said it was going to be a difficult summer ahead.

“We’re seeing more extreme weather events and they are more intense,” he said in Bundaberg, central Queensland.

Albanese said a recovery centre had been established in Tara, and the government expected 42,000 claims to be lodged as result of the fires so far.

“These are heart-breaking scenes when people lose their houses,” he said.

Queensland Fire and Emergency Services said Tara remained the area of most concern, with 115 firefighters and 28 trucks on the ground on Tuesday. They were supported by heavy machinery and several aircraft.

Winds smash Sydney

In Sydney, strong winds blew roofs off buildings, knocked trees onto houses and caused scaffolding to collapse.

The NSW State Emergency Service said it had received 378 calls for help since 3am on Tuesday, with most coming from Camden, Campbelltown, Liverpool and Penrith.

There were wind gusts of 104km/h at Badgerys Creek just before 3am, while 98km/h gusts were recorded at Camden.

SES chief superintendent Dallas Burnes said a cold front blew through overnight. Calls flooded in on Tuesday as people woke to the damage.

“[Our] jobs involve some power lines down, some roofs blown off [and] we had a car-port relocated to a neighbouring property,” he said.

Fire and Rescue NSW crews also had dozens of callouts, including due to arcing power lines that risked sparking bush and grass fires in the dry conditions.

Several fires flared up during the night, but the agency said it was unclear if they were linked to the storms.

The Transport Management Centre urged motorists to take care and allow extra travel time as some roads were closed due to the damage.

There were dozens of unplanned power outages still in place across western Sydney by midday, affecting more than 3000 premises.

Due to result of strong westerly winds, Sydney Airport was expected to move to single runway operations.

“This decision is purely weather and safety-related to safeguard the travelling public,” a statement from Airservices Australia read.

Delays are anticipated, while several domestic flights to Brisbane, Melbourne and the Gold Coast were cancelled.

‘Dangerous day’: Mayor

The Tara blaze is one of 80 burning in Queensland and there have been 900 fires across the state in the past 10 days.

“It’s going to be a very dangerous day for fighting fires,” Western Downs Mayor Paul McVeigh said.

Almost 300 people on the Western Downs were forced to flee their homes and attend evacuation centres at Dalby and Chinchilla.

About 40 remain after some people received the green light to return to their homes “with caution” away from the fire front.

However, many have lost everything.

McVeigh said some Tara evacuees had been relocated to motels or houses across the region from Miles, Dalby, Chinchilla and as far as Toowoomba, more than a two-hour drive away.

“We’ve managed to get them accommodation just to get them out of that evacuation centre environment,” he said.

“Some have been able to return to their properties but unfortunately there is so much damage.”

Relief crews from Victoria have bolstered the local firefighting effort, with more expected from New Zealand.

“The biggest issue we are dealing with is fatigue. The fires have been going for 10 days now,” McVeigh said.

“I just want to send a big thank-you to everyone who has supported us in our hour of need.”

A regional recovery hub had been set up in Tara with support services such as Lifeline, a chaplaincy, Red Cross and mental health services, McVeigh said.

A “prepare to leave” warning was issued on Tuesday for Colosseum and Miriam Vale south of Gladstone in central Queensland.

An evacuation centre has been set up at the Gladstone Entertainment Centre after the fire burned through almost 10,000ha.

People at Carnarvon Gorge, Buckland, Consuelo and Rewan have also been asked to get ready to evacuate.

A large blaze is burning through the Carnarvon National Park and Bandana State Forest.

High fire dangers are predicted for throughout the state’s west on Tuesday.

QFES acting deputy commissioner Joanne Greenfield said crews had worked through the night on containment lines with heavy machinery to prepare for what was to come.

“We hope it’s put us in a good place. As we know, once the conditions come in it can be unpredictable and fires can break over the lines,” she told ABC TV.

QFES acting assistant commissioner Peter Hollier said it was hoped there would be some reprieve in conditions on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday.

“However, there will still be high fire dangers particularly in the western parts of the state,” he said.

There are total fire bans for 64 of Queensland’s 77 local government areas.

-with AAP