We're used to seeing Mount Canbolas close due to extreme weather events, but nothing like this.
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Covered in snow in August, the Mount Canobolas state conservation area will remain closed on Tuesday as the region prepares to battle extreme fire danger conditions.
The Mount Canobolas area, as well as the Borenore karst conservation reserves and the Mullion Range state conservation area, are all closed as the bush fire conditions escalate across New South Wales, with premier Gladys Berejiklian declaring a state of emergency for the state on Monday.
In total 14 national parks and reserves are closed across NSW until further notice as a result of the looming high-risk fire conditions.
Bushfires have been sweeping through large parts of the state since September and in northern NSW over the weekend five people have lost their lives as a result of an extreme firestorm. The conditions in northern NSW on Tuesday are set to be catastrophic.
A Forestry Corporation spokesman said the named areas will remain closed to the public until further notice due to the ongoing fire risk.
Forestry Corporation senior manager forest stewardship Kathy Lyons urged visitors to stay out of all closed forests for their safety.
"The landscape is incredibly dry and there are already extensive fires. Conditions can change rapidly and there remains a continued heightened fire risk until we have substantial rain," she said.
There are many large dangerous fires moving across the landscape and we expect the high fire danger to continue for the foreseeable future.
- Forestry Corporation senior manager forest stewardship Kathy Lyons
Ms Lyons said state forests in northern NSW, which have already been affected by bushfires, may remain closed for extended periods due to the high risk of trees falling after fire.
"There are many large dangerous fires moving across the landscape and we expect the high fire danger to continue for the foreseeable future," she said.
"There is a very high risk to public safety, so do not enter these forests until further notice."
It's the first state of emergency declared in NSW since 2013 and the premier said moving to ensure the safety of residents was paramount.
"Our state has already been hit by some of the most devastating bushfires we have ever seen, with three lives lost and more than 150 structures destroyed," Ms Berejiklian added.
NSW RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said the risk from bushfire this was was "very real" and new fires could ignite from ones that had been brought under control.
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