Blue Mountains , Australia ( CNN ) -- More than 70 wildfires -- including 29 that are uncontained -- are raging across a wide swath of Australia 's most populous state , now threatening the western suburbs of Sydney , authorities said Wednesday . `` It 's only a matter of hours before we see a flare-up in fire activity and a breach of these tenuous containment strategies , '' said Shane Fitzsimmons , Rural Fire Service ( RFS ) commissioner , in Sydney earlier in the day . The wildfires stretch along a nearly 1,000-mile line in New South Wales , from the far north of the state south of Brisbane -- which lies just across the Queensland border -- to east of Canberra , the country 's federal capital . Fires in the Blue Mountain range west of Sydney are a particular worry as rough terrain has impeded firefighting efforts . `` If our strategies do n't work and weather materializes tomorrow that is forecast ... it could be absolutely devastating , '' said Rural Fire Service ( RFS ) Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers in New South Wales on Tuesday . `` We lost a couple hundred homes the other day -- we could get worse losses than that . '' Wednesday is expected to be `` about as bad as it gets , '' added Fitzsimmons . With high temperatures , low humidity and strong winds forecast , fire officials have urged residents to evacuate from the path of the fires . `` On days like today , minutes really matter , '' Fitzsimmons said . At least one death has been reported . A 63-year-old man died of a suspected heart attack Friday while defending his home against a blaze on the New South Wales Central Coast , the Australian Broadcasting Corporation , or ABC , reported . 'Eerie ' skies over city of Sydney . Some urban areas that border the Australian bush have been devastated by the fires , which have destroyed more than 200 homes in the Blue Mountains region since Thursday . Scores of fires now have burned 25,800 hectares ( 310,859 acres ) -- an area greater than the size of Los Angeles . On Tuesday , officials said they were bringing in 1,500 firefighters to join the more than 1,000 emergency crews already on the ground . At Blue Gum Forest inside the Blue Mountains National Park , firefighters were doing controlled burns -- setting fires in the bush ahead of the frontline of the blazes to eliminate tinder and slow the progress of the fires . Instead of cloud-shrouded mountaintops , the valleys of the region were covered with a dense layer of smoke . Fears are still high that fires could join to form a `` mega-fire '' and endanger heavily populated areas of this popular natural retreat west of Sydney . Most of the firefighters in the area were volunteers who 've left their ordinary jobs to put out the fire , pouring in from different parts of Australia . `` There 's a sense of community , doing what they can -- you can get a sense of resilience , strength , and a deep sense of pride of each brigade pulling their weight , '' said CNN 's Robyn Curnow , reporting from the Blue Mountains . The state of emergency issued by authorities gives firefighters and police the authority to carry out measures such as cutting off water , power and gas and ordering mandatory evacuations of areas at risk . A total fire ban is in place for the Greater Sydney region until further notice , officials have said , meaning no fire may be lit in the open , and all fire permits are suspended . The fires have spread a cloak of smog over Sydney in recent days . The bush fires in the area spread out of control Thursday amid high temperatures and powerful winds . Emergency officials said the region is emerging from a very dry winter and has had little rain in recent months . The causes of the Blue Mountains fires are still under investigation -- officials are looking into whether one major blaze was caused by a military training exercise . Police said Monday they had arrested two boys , age 11 and 15 , over two earlier bush fires in the Port Stephens area , more than 100 kilometers ( 60 miles ) north of Sydney , that began October 13 . One of the fires they are accused of starting burned more than 5,000 hectares ( 12,000 acres ) in the surrounding area . The 11-year-old has been placed under house arrest , charged with two counts of intentionally causing fire and being reckless as to its spread , NSW Police Force said . The child is scheduled to appear in court next month where he is expected to plead not guilty to the charges , CNN affiliate Sky News reports . CNN 's Madison Park and Jethro Mullen contributed to this story .
NEW : This means the product will ship as received by the manufacturer, sealed, with all advertised components, and with the manufacturer warranty. A line of wildfires nearly 1,000 miles long threatens the state of New South Wales , Australia . High winds and temperatures threaten to make Wednesday the worst day for the blazes . More than 200 homes in the Blue Mountains region west of Sydney have been destroyed .