NSW Bushfires: Seventh person confirmed dead in Belowra - 7NEWS.com.au

Police have confirmed a seventh person has died in bushfires impacting the NSW South Coast.

On Tuesday, officers were informed a 72-year-old man was unaccounted for at Belowra, about 50km north west of Cobargo, after a large-scale bushfire impacted the area.

Officers believe they found the man's body in a vehicle on Belowra road on Thursday.

More from 7NEWS.com.au on the bushfire crisis:

At least eight people have died in the current bushfire emergency in NSW.

On Monday, Rural Fire Service (RFS) volunteer Samuel McPaul died while fighting a fire at Jingellic, 110km east of Albury.

Almost 450 homes were destroyed on New Year's Eve, authorities confirmed on Friday, with the number destroyed over the bushfire season now reaching 1365.

State of Emergency

Fire authorities in NSW say they'll prioritise lives over homes as severe and extreme conditions again loom over the state.

The state faces a two-day total fire ban from Friday, the third seven-day state of emergency in as many months and demands for those across the state's south coast and Snowy Valleys to evacuate immediately.

Holidaymakers in the alps and popular holiday destinations between Nowra and the Victorian border were asked to be out by Friday night, causing massive traffic queues and petrol and supply shortages.

Police overnight were escorting 100 cars at a time on the Princes Highway from Milton to Nowra, with one convoy halted midway due to dangerous trees.

The highway on Friday morning had reopened northbound from Milton.

- With AAP

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January 03, 2020 at 06:18AM