Temperatures have been soaring across the Central West with some regions reaching up to 47 degrees celsius.

Lithgow was predicted as being the cooler region on Tuesday with a top of 35, but since then locals have struggled with the heat as temperatures continued to sky rocket into the mid to high 40’s.

Wednesday saw Lithgow hit a whopping 40 degrees, followed by 37 on Thursday.

With the heat also came the risk of bush fires across the region.

A lightning strike was thought to be the cause of an overnight bushfire on Wednesday, January 16 which ignited north of Bathurst.

NSW Rural Fire Service (RFS) crews from multiple brigades were called to Reed Creek off Turondale Road at Wattle Flat at around 10pm on Wednesday following reports of a fire.

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NSW RFS Chifley/Lithgow Team Operational Officer Brett Taylor said the blaze was burning through very steep and rough terrain.

The blaze, which now measures around one hectare, was quickly brought under control by firefighters.

At 7.30am on Thursday, Mr Taylor said a number of trees were still burning in that area and that crews and a dozer would return to the scene in the morning.

With scorching temperatures people were also reminded by the RFS to take preventative measures and not risk igniting a blaze.

The NSW Rural Fire Service say a total fire ban helps limit the potential of fires developing, as bushfires are more likely to spread and cause damage on days when the weather is very hot, dry and windy.

A total fire ban was put in place on Thursday, January 17 and will continue into Friday for the Central Ranges including Bathurst, Blayney, Cabonne, Cowra, Lithgow, Mid-Western, Oberon and Orange.

Also with the heatwave this week, the Lithgow Mercury asked residents to show how their pets were coping with the hot conditions. With such a positive response we wanted to share them with you. 

You can check out the pet photos here.