Firefighters battling wildfires in Australia's most populous state attempted to make headway Thursday amid favourable conditions, before an "extreme heatwave" hits embattled areas on the weekend. Thousands of firefighters in New South Wales took advantage of cooler weather and continued to strengthen containment lines. Bureau of Meteorology forecaster Rose Barr said a heatwave was currently building in southern parts of New South Wales before worsening on the weekend. Fire danger ratings remained very high in northwestern New South Wales, and high in Sydney. AP Australian authorities have warned that the fires in New South Wales could fester for months.

Source: Stuff December 26, 2019 07:07 UTC