Two dead, one missing in devastating NSW fires.

A father and son are dead after fighting to save property in the southern NSW village of Cobargo on Tuesday, and another man is feared dead, after terrifying bushfires ripped through the region, destroying homes and forcing thousands of holidaymakers to shelter on beaches.

Locals seek respite on the beach at Batemans Bay. 

NSW Premier Gladys Berejilian confirmed the tragic deaths on Tuesday afternoon.

They follow Tuesday morning’s confirmation that a newlywed firefighter who was expecting his first child had also died in a freak ‘firestorm’ that flipped his truck.

“We can say certainly that the two men at Cobargo are residents of Cobargo,” Ms Berejiklian said. “A father and son, we believe. Very tragic set of circumstances. Obviously trying to their best with the fire as it came through in the early hours of the morning.

Read the story from The New Daily by Samatha Maiden - “Two dead, one missing in devastating NSW fires.”

‘Extreme heat' to bake nation's south-east as hot air mass shifts east

Holidaymakers heading to coastal and inland areas of Australia's south-east after Christmas face potentially "extreme heatwave" conditions that will also elevate the already heightened fire risks.

Many parts of south-eastern Australia will be
seared by another round of heat to see out 2019.

The "very hot pool of air" that built up over Australia last week – smashing records for the nation's hottest ever days – has merely re-circulated, creating "two separate rounds of extreme heat", Blair Trewin, senior climatologist at the Bureau of Meteorology, said

Read the story from The Age by Peter Hannam - “‘Extreme heat' to bake nation's south-east as hot air mass shifts east.”