FIREFIGHTERS RACING TO BEAT FIRE, WEATHER BY BRIAN SKOLOFF ASSOCIATED PRESS.(MAIN)

BIG BEAR LAKE, Calif. -- Firefighters battling a massive wildfire creeping toward this mountain resort town raced to bulldoze firebreaks around communities Saturday, aided by light snow and cooler temperatures that they expected to be replaced by hot, dry winds within days.

The wet, chilly weather slowed the march of the blaze, which has scorched more than 90,000 acres, destroyed about 850 homes and killed four people.

``Things are looking better,'' U.S. Forest Service spokeswoman Tricia Abbas said.

Also Saturday, Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge defended the Bush administration's decision not to declare an emergency zone in Southern …