A deadly blaze west of Brisbane has destroyed more Queensland homes than the 2019 Black Summer fires.
There are fears more will be lost as fires rage across the state amid reports of looting and blazes being deliberately lit.
Firefighters braved extreme conditions on the Western Downs as they battled the ferocious Tara blaze that has already claimed a life and forced hundreds to evacuate.
Prime Minister Anthony Albanese flew into Queensland on Tuesday to pledge his support, saying the Tara fire had created "heartbreaking scenes".
Wind gusts of up to 40km/h and 37C heat made conditions even worse for fatigued crews at Tara, prompting an extreme fire danger warning.
The erratic blaze has burned more than 20,000 hectares, destroying 53 homes in the region - four more than the Black Summer fires claimed across Queensland.
"Unfortunately we are expecting that number to go up," Western Downs Mayor Paul McVeigh told AAP.
About 120 firefighters battled the Tara blaze on Tuesday with aerial support.
"We can't actually extinguish it, we just need to control it," Queensland Fire and Emergency Services Acting Superintendent Cameron Herbert said.
There are about 70 fires burning across Queensland on Tuesday, with people in the Tara region told to "leave immediately".
Overall there have been 900 fires across the state in the past 10 days.
Mr Albanese said relief crews from Victoria and New Zealand were on their way ahead of a "difficult summer".
"These are heartbreaking scenes when people lose their houses," he told reporters at Bundaberg.
"We've seen tragically a loss of life.
"This is a difficult period and it's going to be a difficult summer."
Acting Supt Herbert welcomed the reinforcements for what he described as a "long campaign".
"The fatigue is definitely setting in," he said.
More crews have been requested from across the state with firefighters from as far north as Cairns set to arrive on the Western Downs.
Almost 300 people in the Tara region were forced to flee their homes and attend evacuation centres at Dalby and Chinchilla.
About 40 remain, with some returning to their homes.
However, many have lost everything.
They have been relocated to motels or houses across the region as far as Toowoomba, more than a two-hour drive away.
"Some have been able to return to their properties but unfortunately there is so much damage," Mr McVeigh said.
Queensland Police said there were three incidents of looting in the region with some evacuees having property stolen, including a car.
Patrols have been stepped up, with a command centre established at Tara.
Police also suspect four fires in the past two weeks on the Sunshine Coast may have been deliberately lit, including a weekend Beerwah blaze that threatened Australia Zoo.
Federal Emergency Management Minister Murray Watt and Queensland Housing Minister Meaghan Scanlon arrived in Dalby in Tuesday, with a recovery centre to be set up in Tara.
There is federal government support available through the disaster recovery payment and allowance.
Mr Albanese expected more than 40,000 claims to be made with fires spanning from the northwest to the state's southern border.
The Queensland government has offered financial assistance to affected families and on Tuesday unveiled support for primary producers with concessional loans up to $250,000 and freight assistance up to $5000.
Total fire bans are in place for 64 of Queensland's 77 local government areas.
Besides the Tara region, there are "leave immediately" warnings for Dalveen on the Southern Downs and Kinkuna in the Wide Bay area.
New South Wales
A string of blazes burning around one northern New South Wales town are threatening homes as a swathe of the state faces extreme fire risks in hot and windy conditions.
Multiple bushfires have encircled Tenterfield, in the Northern Tablelands, with residents told to keep a close eye on a 250 hectare blaze at Woodside to the west and a 65 hectare fire burning out of control at Tabulam to the east.
The Glen Innes RSL and Tenterfield Showground was opened to accommodate locals leaving early ahead of the forecast extreme fire danger.
Seven areas have total fire bans in place on Tuesday, including greater Sydney and the Hunter and Illawarra/Shoalhaven regions.
Extreme fire danger ratings have also been put in place in three districts along the Queensland border from New England to the west.
NSW Rural Fire Service deputy commissioner Peter McKechnie said the Northern Tablelands was the area of most concern, including the cluster of fires around Tenterfield.
"We've seen a number of properties threatened most days now and today particularly and up around (the) Northern Tablelands ... we will see properties threatened," he told Sky News.
On Tuesday morning, there were 87 fires burning across the state, 36 of which were yet to be contained.
Firefighters also battled a number of small grass and bush fires that broke out on Sydney's outskirts in the morning as powerful winds whipped through the city's west and south.
Fire and Rescue NSW Superintendent Adam Dewberry said the wind brought down a number of power lines, which could cause sparks and lead to bushfires.
He said fire trucks were being moved to the city fringes in preparation for the high-risk conditions to provide a quick response to any initial flare-ups.
"The idea is to do what we call 'weight of attack', that means lots of fire trucks, lots of firefighters and lots of water to get on these fires early and get them contained before they break out and cause significant destruction in the community," Supt Dewberry told ABC Radio.
Warm and dry weather with fresh westerly winds are forecast for much of the state until the afternoon before potentially severe afternoon and early evening thunderstorms form along the northern half of the coast and ranges.
A milder south to southwesterly change is expected to spread across the state during the day.
