Wildfires hit east coast of Australia

Crews battling wildfires on the east coast of Australia got some help from lower temperatures Saturday. Brendan Doyle of the Rural Fire Service told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. cooler weather has made setting backfires easier. Two fires near Pretty Beach and Gosford threatened homes on the coast of New South Wales. No houses have burned so far, although fire officials said that was pure luck. Shane Fitzsimmons, a fire service commissioner, had harsh words for some of the homeowners. "There were some atrocious conditions with some of those properties there and I've got to say they were very fortunate that their homes are still standing," he said. "If it wasn't for the extraordinary work of the firefighters on the ground with the support of aircraft, the conditions could have been a lot worse."