ENGLISH DEYEA NEWS

New blaze flares; number of homes destroyed jumps to 1,800

Andrew Brownbill / AP Police set up roadblocks in Healesville, Australia, on Thursday as a blaze threatens the area again.

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS | YEA, Australia - A police spokeswoman said that a man had been arrested in connection to one of the recent deadly wildfires that swept southern Australia.

Victoria state police spokeswoman Marika Fengler confirmed Friday to The Associated Press that a man had been arrested, but would give no further details.

Respected newspaper The Age reported without giving a source that the 39-year-old suspect was expected to be charged with arson causing death in connection to a blaze known as the Churchill fire.

The Age reported that the man was from the town of Churchill. Police say one of Australia's wildfires that struck last weekend was deliberately set near Churchhill and that it killed at least 21 people.

More than 180 people were killed as wildfires swept across southeastern Victoria state, and the death toll was expected to rise beyond 200.

A blaze in Australia's nearly burned-out wildfire zone flared up and menaced a town Friday in a reminder that the country's worst fire disaster may not be over yet.

The tally of destroyed homes jumped by 762 to a total of about 1,800 in the wave of hundreds of wildfires that struck Victoria state a week ago. Australia prepared for a day of mourning, with Prime Minister Kevin Rudd saying, "It is important, it is very important, that the nation grieves."

In one of more than a dozen blazes firefighters were still struggling to contain, flames hit a patch of extra-dry timber in a valley about 2 miles from Healesville, flaring up and sending embers and smoke over the town, said Stuart Ord of Victoria state's Department of Sustainability and the Environment.

"The fire's been backing down a gully. It's obviously either reached some dry fuels, or sometimes in a gully we have erratic winds," Ord said, after fire officials issued a warning that town residents should patrol their properties for airborne embers.

Smoke clouds sky
Firefighters raced to take advantage of cooler weather, rain and lighter winds and lit controlled burns Friday in efforts to prevent further breakouts, and smoke still clouded the sky over part of the 1,500-square-mile disaster zone.

More than 400 fires ravaged the state during extremely hot and windy conditions last Saturday. The blazes left at least 5,000 homeless and officials said the death toll could still rise above 200.

Victoria state Emergency Services Commissioner Bruce Esplin said Friday that the tally of destroyed homes stood at 1,831.

Officials said the nation had pledged a total of more than 75 million Australian dollars ($50 million) in donations to various charity funds for survivors. Rudd ordered military bases to be opened to house some of the homeless.

"In recognition of the terrible events of the past few days ... there will be a national day of mourning and a national service of mourning for the victims of the Victorian bush fires," Rudd told Parliament on Thursday. The date has not yet been chosen.

Compounding the sorrow for families of victims was that the Victoria state coroner's office has not released the bodies for funerals, and officials said the wait could take up to two weeks.

Living in a tent city
Dozens of people who lost their homes in the weekend infernos moved into a tent city erected by the army in the town of Yea in hardest-hit Victoria state.

Authorities suspect some of the fires were deliberately lit. Police on Thursday detained two men for questioning about the fires but later released them.

Arson specialists have concluded that the fires had six separate sources, four of which were not suspicious. The Churchill fire was believed to be arson, and foul play also was suspected in the fire that destroyed the town of Marysville — where more than 10 percent of the population may have perished.

Wildfire arson carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison, but authorities say they will bring murder charges if they can. A murder conviction carries a maximum life sentence.

In Yea, volunteers cooked hot meals and sorted through donations of clothing, medicines and cell phone chargers. Authorities requested donations of plastic storage bins, sunscreen and insect repellant. The Salvation Army drove in a trailer packed with computers, video game consoles for children.

The high toll has increased the urgency for a nationwide fire warning system, which has been snarled partly by bickering between state officials over funding for years.

"I am determined to see this thing implemented across the nation," Rudd said during a television telethon Thursday night to raise money for victims. "If it means cracking heads to ensure it happens we'll do that."

Officials partly blamed the dramatic death toll on the number of people who appeared to have waited until they saw the fast-moving blazes coming before trying to flee. Many bodies were found in burned-out cars.