An incredible photo of a hillside dotted with fires in Victoria has been described as looking "like lava".
Euroa resident Melissa Ericksen captured the image of Balmattum Hill glowing in the dark on Saturday night.
"Balmattum Hill is really glowing tonight, however not as much as all of our incredible & selfless emergency services. Thank you," Ericksen said.
Maindample Rural Fire Brigade shared her photo on its Facebook page, adding the comment: "looks like lava".
Ericksen told news.com.au that she watched the fires develop on Saturday with more than 40 fire trucks, three aircraft and three helicopters working on it from just after 9am.
She said the hill was covered by smoke from other areas during the day so the fires were not clear until after the sun set.
"I took the image at 9.45pm after the strong wind change had come through," she said.
"Balmattum Hill is a place I have walked all my life and it appeared to be covered in lava under the darkness.
"The photo is beautiful yet terrifying.
"Our emergency services did an incredible job containing the fire and preventing any loss of houses."
RFS deputy commissioner Rob Rogers says at least 60 homes have been lost in the fires in NSW over the weekend.
"We haven't been able to get a lot of aircraft off the ground today but I can confirm there is confirmed 60 homes but we know there is more," he told ABC.
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"We know there is a significant damage to infrastructure in the Snowy area and we also know that there are communities like Batlow that have been extremely hard-hit.
"We really have to get in there and have a good look at everything that has been damaged and we are also aware of significant impact to livestock in the area."
Deputy Commissioner Rogers said the fire had not reached Eden on the NSW south coast, which had earlier been subject to an emergency alert that was later downgraded to watch and act.
The town had been bathed in an eerie red and dark orange light as the fire got closer. Residents were advised to get "in a safe place".
Deputy Commissioner Rogers said they were comfortable for people to stay in Eden at the moment.
"We are watching the fire and if the situation changes we will advise the community," he said.
"There is an enormous amount of fire in that part of the world and these aren't going to go for some time and we have been dealing with these fires non-stop now for more than five months and I can't see that changing."
Across the state 146 fires are still burning and Deputy Commissioner Rogers said there were a lot of uncontained fires in the south of the state.
"We have a solid line of fire all the way from Batemans Bay all the way up to the Bundanoon area."
Deputy Commissioner Rogers said there was also a fire below the Blue Mountains that crews were trying to contain.
Former prime minister John Howard has said he believes this year's fires are different.
"I turned 80 last year, so from that perspective, I can't recall such a long phase of smoke haze," Howard told ABC Grandstand earlier today.
"What is different about this set of bushfires is both the intensity and the spread.
"To have them in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and not long ago in parts of Queensland at the same time is different."
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