It’s feared as many as 30 homes have been destroyed by bushfires raging across northern New South Wales.

Conditions have eased slightly overnight, allowing the Rural Fire Service to downgrade emergency warnings to Watch and Act level.

Almost 1000 firefighters have been tackling the blazes at Busbys Flat and Drake, south-west of Casino.

RFS Commissioner Shane Fitzsimmons tells Alan Jones crews will assess the destruction this morning.

“We’ve got some real concerns there Alan.

“There’s some teams trying to make their way in there at first light.”

Initial reports suggested 20 homes had been destroyed in the village of Rappville but that number is now feared to be upwards of 30.

Commissioner Fitzsimmons says it’s quite possible the fires are the result of arson.

“We have seen a number of them where human activity has been involved.

“There’s a range of reasons why these fires have started and… we’ve had more than 4000 fires since the 1st of July.”

Click PLAY below to hear the latest from the RFS Commissioner

NSW RFS Deputy Commissioner Rob Rogers tells Steve Price many people are still waiting to hear about the fate of their homes.

“We’re trying to put a priority on getting that information to them as quick as we can.

“Unfortunately the property loss is devastating but touch wood so far no people have been lost.”

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Image: NSW Rural Fire Service