NSW south coast and southern highlands bushfires tear through areas that have not burned in decades

Kangaroo Valley, Milton and St Georges Basin all faced fire after a 'catastrophic' day as 20 new fires sparked between Nowra and Batemans Bay

"Right here we are the meat in the sandwich, so thanks for coming down."

And so began Mark Coombes's briefing for a new shift of firefighters in Nowra.