But the improved weather is also hampering back burning efforts according to the Rural Fire Service.
Raging bushfires yesterday destroyed at least 10 homes and threatened scores more in southeast Australia as a scorching heatwave hit Sydney with its hottest New Year's Day on record.
Temperatures soared up to 47 degrees Celsius as hundreds of fire fighters backed by aircraft battled the blazes and sweltering residents of coastal cities flocked to the beaches.
Wildfires fanned by hot winds destroyed at least three homes on the NSW Central Coast and five houses at Junee, north of Wagga Wagga, in NSW's south-west.
A St John Ambulance worker also reportedly died while helping people fleeing extreme bushfires.
The male volunteer died overnight while assisting evacuees at a centre in Woy Woy on the Central Coast, according Macquarie Radio.
Hundreds of fire fighters will spend the day containing the fires and back burning ahead of possible extreme conditions later in the week.
“Today will be fine, with no problems at all, but what we're looking at is three or four days ahead in case it does warm up again we need to make sure this fire is thoroughly contained," said Rural Fire service spokesman, Cameron Wade
New year damage
On Sunday more than 50 homes in Woy Woy, across the Pittwater estuary from Sydney's upmarket Palm Beach, had been evacuated and at least three houses and seven cars were destroyed, national radio reported.
Helicopters dropped water bombs to help fire fighters struggling to bring the blazes under control as they threatened scores of homes in nearby towns.
In neighbouring Victoria a major fire destroyed seven homes as it swept across a 30 kilometre front, officials said.
The fire has burned through about 9,000 hectares of bush and farmland, damaging dozens of properties and leaving two people injured.
Sweltering conditions
In Sydney the temperature hit 45 degrees Celsius causing the failure of a major air conditioning unit at the international airport and leaving sweltering passengers at the mercy of fans and improvised coolers.
"The airport reached 45 degrees at about 4.00pm but the city office at Observatory Hill also hit 44 degrees and that's the hottest New Year's Day ever recorded in Sydney," said weather bureau spokesman Chris Webb.
"The previous warmest was 38.1 back in 1928," he said.
Sydney hospitals had treated a stream of patients affected by the heat, particularly the elderly and those with cardiovascular disease, a spokeswoman for Sydney's health service said.
The heat also caused power failures and delays in city train services, which were hit by faults in overhead wiring on city and regional lines.
The government's bureau of meteorology said recently that average temperatures for the first 10 months of 2005 were 1.03 degrees above the 30 year mean and that the country was on track for the hottest year on record.
The city of Melbourne, topped off its warmest-ever December with a record hot New Year's Eve, the bureau said.
The temperature peaked at 42.9 degrees, breaking the previous record of 41.7 degrees on December 31, 1862.