Australia uses bushfires breather to plan for the next onslaught

Australian officials used a respite on Jan. 6 from fierce wildfires that have killed 25 people across the country's southeast to race to reopen blocked roads and evacuate people who have been trapped for days.

A second day of light rain and cool winds brought some relief from heatwave-fuelled blazes that ripped through two states over the weekend, but officials warned the hazardous weather conditions were expected to return later in the week.

Police on Jan. 6 confirmed the death of a 71-year-old man on the south coast of New South Wales (NSW) state who was reported missing on Dec. 31, bringing the national toll to 25.

More than 8 million hectares (19.8 million acres) of land have so far been destroyed in the current fire season, nearly the size of Austria.

"No one can be complacent. We've got big fire danger coming our way towards the end of this week with hot weather," Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews told reporters on Jan. 6 afternoon.

Authorities redoubled their efforts to provide supplies and repatriate thousands of people who have been trapped by fire lines in coastal towns for several days.

"What we are focusing on here is the human cost and the rebuilding cost for people's lives," Prime Minister Scott Morrison told reporters in Canberra as he announced funding of A$2 billion ($1.4 billion) over two years to the newly formed National Bushfire Recovery Agency.

Morrison said nearly 4,000 cattle and sheep have been killed as a result of the fires.

Dean Linton, a resident of Jindabyne in the Snowy Mountains, used the break from an immediate threat to his town to visit his wife and four children who had evacuated to Sydney. He also used the 870 kilometer (540 mile) round trip to pick up a fire-fighting pump...