Efforts to tackle Aus bushfires continue over Xmas

Firefighters across the Australian state of New South Wales had cooler conditions on Christmas Day and worked to keep fire danger to a minimum. Rain is forecast for coastal north of Newcastle on Wednesday, while Sydney will have a 50 per cent chance of rain and a maximum of 26 degrees Celsius (78.8 Fahrenheit).

The state's Premier Gladys Berejiklian talked to some firefighters in Colo Heights, north-west of Sydney, who were served breakfast by community volunteers before they headed back out to fight fires. Almost 74 bush and grass fires were burning on Wednesday afternoon, with some 30 fires yet to be contained.

More than 1700 firefighters will spend this week making crucial preparations before conditions deteriorate again across the state, likely this weekend. About 5 million hectares (12.35 million acres) of land have burned nationwide over the past few months, with nine people killed and more than 950 homes destroyed. New South Wales, the country's most populous state, has received the brunt of the damage, with around 850 homes razed in the state.