The Act Party condemned the post.

Sydney has sweated through it warmest March night in 149 years and woken to a day of extreme heat.

Beaches and water parks were packed as temperatures climbed into the high 30s today in what felt like a return of summer.

The heat was expected to linger into the evening in Sydney, with 30 degrees forecast at 9pm before a welcome cool change about midnight.

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"Today is the hottest day, and then it is the end – well, that is the hope," said Bureau of Meteorology senior meteorologist Magda Gallos-Lorenc.

Last night was Sydney's warmest march night on record, dropping to just 25.9 degrees at its coolest.

From Manly to Cronulla, beaches were busy early as the warnings rolled in.

"The heatwave season is not over yet. Summer is – heat is a silent killer," NSW Ambulance associate director for emergency management Steve Vaughan said.

"Really goes for anyone, don't be outside in the middle part of the day when it's at its hottest."

He said paramedics were braced to get about 3500 calls for help.

To avoid the heat in the west, Fairfield's water park did the job.

In the NRL, the Eels played the Tigers at Parramatta in 37 degrees.

It wasn't enough to hamper play, according to a heat stress tracker that considers a number of factors including temperature, humidity and wind.

The heat has prompted a total fire ban across greater Sydney, the central ranges, southern slopes and southern ranges regions.

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It was a sleepless night for dozens of residents in Melbourne's east who had to evacuate their homes as a bushfire tore through the area.

One property in Montrose was destroyed, while another was significantly damaged.

Kerri Maggs said it was "quite scary."

"The kids were quite frightened. Our daughter was absolutely hysterical," she said

Dozens of residents were forced to evacuate their homes.

"I went outside and the fire was like 100 metres away, the whole sky was red," local Cas Churchill said.

"The fire had flared up there were embers coming across.

"The first alert that came through on the phones was at 1.20am. Almost an hour and a half after the fire was right on our door."

Val Platt said there was little warning.

"We were in bed and I heard somebody yelling about getting out now," she said.

The fire began early yesterday afternoon and CFA crews thought they had it under control.

But with a change in conditions overnight it doubled in size, burning 40 hectares.

"The fact that the wind conditions actually picked up and with the dryness and the uphill run, it just took off this morning," deputy incident controller Mike Wilmott said.

An evacuation centre was set up at a Kilsyth reserve where 25 residents took shelter.

Today most were able to go home as the emergency warning was downgraded.

With wet weather bringing relief for crews, the clean-up began.

Even with the rain, residents in the area were still being urged to monitor conditions as they could change, but the CFA says they're hoping they'll have the fire well under control by tomorrow at the latest.

The cause of the bushfire is still being investigated.

The court told the rapist his explanation ‘smacks’ of reducing the gravity of offending.

A judge said the high-profile 501 “hit the ground running” upon arrival in New Zealand.

A search is under way for a father who pulled his children from a vehicle and fled a collision at Menai in Sydney's south.

Witnesses raced to the rescue of a woman stuck in one car before emergency services took over.

Plenty in the street heard the bang as a Mitsubishi ute flipped on its side after hitting a Mazda Sedan.

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In a matter of seconds a door opened on the ute and the father and his three children climbed out.

Vahid Tabakol said he saw them walk off.

"As I was walking towards it i see a man and three younger children walking away," he said.

Neighbours rushed to help the 43-year-old driver of the Mazda.

It was left to residents to stay by the driver's side until paramedics arrived.

"We saw the woman, she was crying and screaming and then the guy just kind of ran off with his kids," Joy Zaher said.

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Tabakol said he and other residents were worried the children might have suffered concussion and needed medical attention.

Police are continuing to search for the father.

The Mazda driver suffered only minor injuries.

The woman woke up to ‘pressure on her chest’ and thought she was ‘going to die’.

Two people died within 12 hours of each other after separate homicides in Northland.

Given six to 12 months at his first diagnosis, Latta now says he’ll live for years.

The major Auckland road remains closed.