There is no immediate threat to lives or property from 66 fires burning across NSW however, "unprecedented conditions" call for extreme vigilance, the premier says.
On Saturday morning five major uncontained fires were causing fire fighters concern, including two in the Blue Mountains and Wollemi National parks, west of Sydney.
"It has never been this hot, dry or windy in combination ever before," Premier Nathan Rees told reporters on Saturday.
NSW Rural Fire Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons said there was no immediate threat to lives or properties, but warned the situation could change.
"It is a very tenuous situation with these unprecedented conditions," he said.
A catastrophic fire rating is in place for towns including Bogan and Gilgandra, in the Upper Central Western Plains.
The same rating applies for the Lower Central Western Plains, which includes Forbes and Dubbo, and the Far Western region, which includes Bourke and Broken Hill.
On Friday more than 120 fires were burning across NSW - around twice the number there was on Saturday.
"That's a result of fire fighters being able to deal will many of them, but clearly as the temperatures warm up today we expect we will probably find more fires," Commissioner Fitzsimmons said.
A Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) spokesman said temperatures across the state in the last week were well above average on three occasions.
At Wanaaring, north west of Bourke, in the state's NSW central west, the temperature soared to 47 degrees on Friday.
Dry lightning strikes forecast for late Saturday afternoon , along with the heat and strong winds forecast for Sunday have firefighters bracing for tough conditions ahead.
"(Sunday) we are expecting temperatures to rise back to near 40 degrees in Sydney and across much of the north eastern part of NSW we could see temperatures in the mid 40s," a BoM Spokesman said.
Wind speeds of up to 40km an hour were also likely.
"This will put pressure on those fires that have started because of lightning strikes in recent days," he added.
Premier Rees said most of the fires burning in NSW were a result of lightning strikes, but believed the state was well equipped to fight the fires.
"We all need to remain vigilant,"he said.
"We have never been better prepared for a fire season, 900 fire fighters in the National Parks Service, the same as last year, another 400 that can be called on and 70,000 volunteers across the state."
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