A total fire ban remains in place for NSW as firefighters battle around 110 blazes. Source: AAP
POLICE are warning "moron" arsonists they will be caught after a string of fires were deliberately lit in southwest Sydney.
As firefighters scrambled to bring 14 fires under control in rising temperatures on Friday morning, police and fire authorities condemned the actions of arsonists who lit nine fires at Macquarie Fields on Thursday night.
A number of youths fled the scene and two teenagers, both 16, were arrested and charged with breaching bail.
They are expected to appear before Campbelltown Children's Court on Friday.
Five people were penalised for breaching the state's total fire bans on Tuesday and Wednesday, including three teenagers charged with deliberately lighting a bushfire in Newcastle.
"One fire deliberately lit is one too many and I can't condemn that strongly enough," Acting Police Commissioner Nick Kaldas told reporters at the Rural Fire Service (RFS) headquarters.
"Something like that might be fun for a minute ... but at the end of the day it could result in people dying.
"Don't do it. Think about the consequences. If you do it ... chances are you will be caught."
RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers said any fires lit in the current conditions could cause untold damage.
Total fire bans are in place for NSW with 110 fires burning across the state and temperatures expected to hit the low to mid-40s.
"There's nothing more frustrating for firefighters to be dealing with fires that ought not to be there," Mr Rogers said.
"There's enough fires that start from either accidental or natural causes without dealing with fires that are started by morons who think it's a big joke to light fires in the bush."
More than 1000 firefighters are in the field on Friday, and the dangerous weather front is forecast to last until Saturday afternoon.
There are three main fronts of concern, with more than 100 firefighters still working to bring a blaze spanning 100 kilometres at Yass under control.
About 8500 hectares have been burnt at Deans Gap, also in the south near Sussex Inlet, with the nearby town of Wandandian under threat if northwesterly winds blow in.
And 145 firefighters are expected on the ground at Cooma, where a blaze is continuing to grow after destroying 9400 hectares.
"The winds are not expected to be quite as strong as they were on Tuesday, but given how dry it is and the number of fires we have, we're still quite concerned about the coming days," Mr Rogers said.
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