Australian State NSW Declares 3rd State of Emergency Amid Bushfires, Worse Conditions Expected

Cars line up to leave the town of Batemans Bay in New South Wales to head north on Jan. 2, 2020 amid a mass evacuation due to bushfires. Peter Parks/AFP via Getty Images

Australia’s most populous state of New South Wales has declared a third state of emergency of the bushfire season ahead of re-elevated fire risk over the weekend.

Premier Gladys Berejiklian said the declaration would come into effect from Friday morning, with severe to extreme conditions forecast for Saturday.