� Police arrested a suspect Friday in connection to one of the deadly wildfires in southern Australia that killed more than 180 people and left about 7,000 homeless.
Police did not release any details about the suspect, but a newspaper report said he was a 39-year-old man who would likely be charged with arson causing death in what police call the Churchill fire.
At least 21 people died in that fire, one of hundreds that swept across Victoria state on Feb. 7, destroying more than 1,800 homes. The official death toll is 181 and is expected to exceed 200.
Officials have vowed to pursue murder charges against alleged arsonists if the evidence supports it.
After The Age newspaper published a report about the arrest on its Web site, Victoria state police spokeswoman Marika Fengler confirmed to The Associated Press that a man had been arrested in connection to the Churchill fire. She would give no further details.
The newspaper reported that the man was from Churchill and was expected to appear in court later Friday.
The report came as a blaze in the nearly burned-out wildfire zone flared up and menaced the town of Healesville � in a reminder that the country's worst fire disaster may not be over yet.
In one of more than a dozen blazes firefighters still struggled to contain, flames hit a patch of extra-dry timber in a valley about 2 miles (3 kilometers) 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 Country Fire Authority said later that the immediate threat to homes had eased, but warned residents to remain vigilant.
The scale of the disaster became clearer Friday. The tally of homes destroyed in the wave of wildfires that swept Victoria state a week ago jumped to more than 1,800. The Victorian government also raised the number of people left homeless, to 7,000.
Prime Minister Kevin Rudd announced plans for a national day of mourning, without immediately naming a date.
"It is very important that the nation grieves," he said Thursday.
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 (400,000-hectare) disaster zone.
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.
Hundreds of people who lost their homes in the weekend infernos moved into tent cities erected by the army near hard hit towns.
Compounding the sorrow for families of victims was that the state coroner's office was still identifying bodies and officials said it could take up to two weeks before they are released for funerals.
Arson specialists have concluded that the fires had six separate sources, four of which were not suspicious. Foul play was suspected in the fire that destroyed the town of Marysville � where more than 10 percent of the population may have perished. Police have said they are nearly certain the Churchill fire was arson.
Wildfire arson carries a maximum penalty of 25 years in prison. A murder conviction carries a maximum life sentence.
The high death 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.
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