More than 630 firefighters were on the ground, including crews from the Wagga and Cootamundra Rural Fire Service, which had been called to the fire fronts last week.

Warnings for the blazes at Bees Nest near Armidale, Drake near Tenterfield, and Shark Creek in the Clarence Valley have been downgraded on Wednesday to "advice" levels after the threat eased overnight.

Emergency alerts had been issued for two-of-the-three fires but easing winds helped fire crews get the upper hand and slow their spread.

Firefighters, however, are in a "race against time" to control the bushfires in the state's north before conditions are expected to worsen over the weekend.

NSW Fire Service deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said the fires are so big - especially the blazes near Armidale and Tenterfield - that it could take days or even weeks to bring under control.

"It'll be a bit of a race against time to try and get as much containment as we can on the fires ahead of the worsening conditions," he told Nine's Today Show.

"The short of it is, we're not out of the woods yet."

The latest update NSW Rural Fire Service has indicated that nine homes have been destroyed in the northern NSW fires, as well as more than 30 outbuildings, two car yards and a pistol club. Most of the losses had occurred at the Drake fire.

The Bees Nest fire has razed more than 66,500 hectares and is still burning close to homes and properties, but activity has eased.

The Long Gully Road blaze at Drake has burnt about 43,400 hectares and continues to spread in a number of directions due to winds and local terrain, but conditions have also eased. Meanwhile, the Shark Creek fire has torn through about 9000 hectares.

At midday on Wednesday, 41 bush and grass fires were burning across the state with 20 of them uncontained.