South Australia's Country Fire Service (CFS) has called in additional water bombers as the state prepares for a perfect storm of bushfire conditions.
Total fire bans and fire weather warnings are in place in eight districts, with Adelaide and other parts of the state facing a second consecutive day of temperatures above 40 degrees Celsius and strong winds on Friday.
The extreme conditions have put firefighters on high alert, with all available CFS crews on stand-by.
Crews have already been kept busy by multiple blazes in the past 24 to 48 hours, including a large industrial shed fire at Price on the Yorke Peninsula.
Flames ripped through plastic packaging material and cardboard, causing an estimated $3 million in damage.
Bureau of Meteorology emergency services meteorologist Jonathan Fischer said Friday's conditions posed a "significant fire risk".
"In terms of the prolonged duration of this heatwave, we are looking at the worst conditions since the 2019-20 season," Mr Fischer said.
"There's also a risk of dry lightning across the state on Friday and that's going to further elevate that fire risk."
The mercury climbed to 44C on Thursday at Ceduna and Nullarbor.
Mr Fischer said a significant amount of vegetation growth throughout the spring was also a matter of concern.
"Despite the relatively cool and wet spring that we had, conditions have dried out over the last couple of months," he said.
"The soil moisture and also the fuel moistures have rapidly dried out … [to where they are] near their peak dryness and flammability."
Meanwhile, the State Emergency Service (SES) has issued multiple severe heatwave warnings, urging people to stay indoors where possible.
Early yesterday, the CFS responded to a suspicious tyre and tank fire at Lincoln Gap.
Crews later responded to a fire believed to have been sparked by an air-conditioner that caused $150,000 damage to a house at Coomunga on the lower Eyre Peninsula.
No-one was home at the time and crews were able to safely rescue the owners' cat.
Less than a week after a fire ripped through land near Port Lincoln, CFS deputy chief officer Georgie Cornish said the service had called on the support of water-bombing aircraft from interstate for fires that break out today.
"We have also been able to acquire the New South Wales large aerial tanker," Ms Cornish said.
"We have also got four aircraft on top of our standard fleet."
The fire danger has been rated as extreme in the Eastern Eyre Peninsula, Lower Eyre Peninsula, Flinders, Mid North, Mount Lofty Ranges, Yorke Peninsula, Upper South East and Lower South East districts.
Ms Cornish said every South Australian needed to prepare for the worst.
"What we are urging people to do is [to] understand the risk that exists with this weather that we've got," she said.
"Dust off your survival plan … share that plan with friends and family, and share that plan with neighbours."
The weather bureau said that, despite the extreme conditions on Friday, "relief" was on the way, with temperatures set to drop to the mid-20s on Saturday.
"We are going to see milder conditions develop over the weekend and suppressed fire danger," Mr Fischer said.
"That's actually going to continue right through much of the next week."
