Australia begins damage assessment amid temporary respite from bushfires

Locals use phone apps to get updates on the fire and to anticipate its movements as high winds push smoke and ash from the Currowan Fire towards Nowra, New South Wales, Australia January 4, 2020. REUTERS/Tracey Nearmy

SYDNEY (Reuters) - Australian authorities began assessing the damage on Sunday from heatwave-spurred bushfires that swept through two states a day earlier, as cooler conditions provided a temporary respite from blazes that have scarred the country's east coast for weeks.

Light rain and cooler temperatures in the southeast of the country were a welcome change from the searing heat that has fuelled the devastating fires, but officials warned they were not enough to put out almost 200 fires still burning.