The Orroral Valley fire was upgraded to "watch and act" status by the Emergency Services Agency on Monday afternoon as Canberra again braced for the arrival of a smoke blanket across the capital.
Firefighters battling the Orroral Valley bushfire in the ACT and the Clear Range fire over the border are preparing for a strong southerly change that's expected to fan flames closer to properties and send smoke up into the territory.
It comes as a new fire has started east of the Clear Range fire.
The Calabash fire started on Monday afternoon and was burning at emergency level.
The fire was sparked by spot fires and is burning to the east of Colinton and west of the Strike-a-Light Nature Reserve. Crews are on the scene.
The southerly is set to reach inland areas in NSW between 5pm and 6pm on Monday and the ACT by 8pm.
NSW Rural Fire Service spokesman Greg Allan said Monday evening's southerly was expected to be more severe than wind changes seen on the fireground during the weekend.
"Unlike Sunday, where there was a bit of moisture, Monday is very dry, and southern parts of NSW near the Clear Range fire didn't receive any rain," Mr Allan said.
"Conditions are extremely dry after strong winds in the southerly."
Wind gusts of up to 30km/h are expected in the area.
Those living to the north of the Clear Range fire, including residents in Bredbo, Michelago and Colinton have been urged to closely monitor conditions.
"The southerly has been coming up the coast rather strong and will be hitting inland," Mr Allan said.
"Depending on where you are, keep an eye on the Fires Near Me app and take the advice from local firefighters."
The Clear Range fire, which started from spotting of the Orroral Valley fire, has grown to more than 11,400 hectares and remained at advice level at 1pm on Monday.
Multiple properties have been lost in the Bumbalong Valley area.
However, Mr Allan said it was still too early to determine how many homes and buildings had been lost in the fires.
Building assessment teams have been working through the area after an easing of conditions on the fireground.
The fire danger rating for Monday has been listed as very high.
NSW fire authorities have said conditions would be challenging for crews.
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The arrival of the southerly change is expected to bring smoke haze from the Orroral Valley bushfire back to the ACT.
That bushfire was at advice level at 1pm Monday and has burnt almost 60,000 hectares.
The ACT Emergency Services Agency said the smoke from the fire is likely to come through the capital from 4pm.
It's expected southern suburbs of Canberra will be more affected.
Those with pre-existing heart and lung conditions as well as those who are sensitive to smoke have been advised to take precautions.
Forecaster at the Bureau of Meteorology Abrar Shabren said the southerly change fanning the smoke into the capital would last until Tuesday morning.
"There's been a lot of smoke blowing in from the west... and that's been blowing back towards the coast," he said.
"However, the wind change will come in and it will blow the smoke around back into the ACT."
While the smoke haze was not expected to be as severe as those seen in early January when Canberra was the most air polluted city in the world, Mr Shabren said the haze would be persistent.
"The cloud coverage is not there, and while the smoke might not be as thick as we've seen in the past few days, it will swirl around and come back," he said.
In some relief for fire crews, rain is forecast for later in the week with showers predicted from Thursday.
However, Mr Shabren said it was still too early to say how much would fall.
"What we can say is that we will see wet conditions in the next few days starting from Thursday through to the weekend," he said.
"There could be isolated falls as well."
