Tourists in Australias New South Wales are being ordered to evacuate the states South Coast region before this weekend as the country battles more than 200 wildfires that have killed at least 17 people.

Heavy winds mixed with dry temperatures are expected to create an extreme fire danger for NSWs South Coast by Saturday. In advance of the conditions, a 155-mile tourist leave zone, stretching from Batemans Bay to NSWs border with Victoria, has been put in place, local officials said Thursday.

A seven-day state of emergency will also go into effect on Friday for the southeastern state, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian said Thursday. Its the third time that such an emergency has been declared for NSW in the past two months.