- This story was first published on December 31, 2019. Live updates are still flowing and current. Scroll down for the live blog
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The Dunns Road fire has claimed more than 30 homes and 170 buildings, the RFS has confirmed, as it warns people to be prepared if they choose to stay.
Assistant Commissioner Jason Heffernan said in Tumut on Friday that there will come a point it is too late to leave.
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January 2
The Dunns Road fire has grown to well over 130,000 hectares in size after another nervous day of emergency warnings and downgrades.
The blaze is still listed as out of control as it burns in a south-easterly direction to Talbingo.
It is burning south of the Snowy Mountains Highway in the Ellerslie Range near Kunama, and spot fires that started ahead of the main front yesterday have spread, the NSW Rural Fire Service outlined on Wednesday morning.
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The south-westerly change is pushing the fire towards the Kunama and Wondalga areas and surrounds, with the RFS advising those in the area to leave now towards Tumut if the plan is to leave or they are not prepared.
New Year's Eve
Firefighters have faced "erratic" conditions as a bushfire raging near Tarcutta and Tumut traveled more than 15 kilometres overnight.
The Dunns Road fire remains at emergency warning level and has burned through more than 22,000 hectares since 9am on Monday.
The fire, which is believed to have started by lightning strike at the weekend, last night reached Green Hills State Forest and residents around Lower Bago Road, Laurel Hill, Willigobung and Kunama were urged to leave around midnight.
A community meeting was held at the Batlow Literary Institute Hall on Monday night, with representatives from the NSW RFS and local emergency management committee on hand.
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