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Two people have been arrested in relation to deadly Victorian bushfires responsible for at least 15 deaths, a police spokeswoman said.
The two men were arrested between Seymour and Yea, around 20km north of Marysville, a small town of 519 where authorities believe up to 100 people may
have perished.
Victoria police Senior constable Sharon Darcy told the Associated Press that detectives had responded to a tip about suspicious behaviour near the town of Yea in relation to the fires and that "two people are assisting police with their inquiries."
Earlier today Victorian Police Chief Commissioner Christine Nixon said there was a strong possibility arsonists were behind the Marysville blaze.
Ms Nixon said part of the concern surrounding the Marysville blaze was that fire and police experts couldn't explain how it began.
Ms Nixon had already confirmed arsonists were responsible for a fire in the Churchill area.
The death toll remains at 181 but is certain to rise significantly.
Victoria yesterday began to count the true cost of Australia's worst bushfires.
It extends beyond the almost unimaginable scale of destruction that has erased entire towns, raged through 25 local government areas, devastated farms, businesses, livestock and wildlife, and left unspeakable agony and grief in its wake.
Emergency services are prepared for many more deaths as teams begin scouring the ruins of towns and farms.
"I'm not prepared to say 300 victims, but the people from the coroner's office have prepared for that many," Ms Nixon said yesterday.
As in other areas, police have sealed roads leading into the Marysville ruins.
"There are still deceased persons in homes and despite a big police, Country Fire Authority and Army presence in Marysville, they have still not been able to identify and move all bodies," state Premier John Brumby said.
"You can imagine if people return to those areas and they return to a house and there are still deceased persons there, the trauma of this and the impact would be quite devastating."
The more than 500 injured have stretched hospitals to the limit.
And the thousands left homeless by the destruction of more than 1000 homes - most now living in tents or emergency accommodation - have been stripped even of their identities, having lost driving licences, bank or rates statements - anything that can prove who they are.
"When you meet persons, victims of this extraordinary disaster, the desperation is compounded by those who have lost every form of establishing who they are," Prime Minister Kevin Rudd told Parliament.
"It is something which, unless you've experienced it, is beyond imagining. It's not just the loss of memories and photos and entire family histories - it's the loss of the certification of who you are and your legal personality."
That trauma became desperately real for refugees trying to obtain emergency relief payments from the federal social welfare agency Centrelink but who were turned away because they had no way of proving who they were.
As outrage flared, Family and Community Minister Jenny Macklin told ABC radio yesterday that victims would be able to get cash in hand or directed to their bank accounts on the spot, with only a signature. "Centrelink will get that message to remind them be lenient this morning," she said.
And the worst is not yet over.
Late yesterday 4000 firefighters, including teams from across Australia, were battling 25 out-of-control conflagrations as southerly winds eroded the gains that came from cooler temperatures.
As the threat eased to towns near the Beechworth fire that has so far consumed 30,000ha of the state's northeast, and in the Gippsland region where more than 20 people died, new alarm spread with two fronts raging 18km apart north of Melbourne.
Towns in the area were yesterday placed on high alert as lightning sparked new outbreaks from Bunyip Ridge across to Healesville with fears a wind change could drive the two together.
"The emergency services are all working together to make sure our number one priority is the protection of lives in these communities," CFA deputy chief fire officer Steve Warrington told ABC radio.
Across the state, authorities warned, fires may not be controlled for another week.
The danger has been heightened by the news that arsonists lit two new fires on Tuesday night near the Beechworth outbreak, drawing new fury from police and politicians.
Arsonists have already been warned they could face murder charges.
Two arrests for minor fires were made at the weekend, and yesterday police said they were close to releasing an image of the arsonist suspected of setting the Churchill fire in Gippsland, which killed at least 21 people.
Police are also hunting looters who have been seen on properties in devastated areas - including surviving buildings on land where people died - and authorities have warned of appeals by bogus charities.
But generosity has overwhelmed Victorians.
More than A$33 million ($41 million) has so far been donated for bushfire relief, and charities have been inundated with clothing, blankets, food and other essentials.
Offers of help have come from New Zealand, the United States, Thailand, Singapore, France and Japan.
Federal and state governments are setting up a Victorian reconstruction and recovery authority to co-ordinate the rebuilding of lives, communities and businesses.
"I say this to the country at large," Rudd said. "Whatever community you are from, if it has been rendered to ashes, if it has been destroyed, hear this from the Government and the Parliament of the nation - together we will rebuild each of these communities, brick by brick, school by school, community hall by community hall."
AT A GLANCE
* Prime Minister Kevin Rudd vows that the destroyed communities will be rebuilt
* Fire continues to threaten communities in Victoria's northeast near Yea
* Police are investigating claims of arson and looting
* 20 fires still burning, more than 350,000ha has been razed
* The death toll stands at 181
* Authorities believe up to 100 of 519 residents of Marysville have died fire victims begin to return to their fire-ravaged communities
* Donations at A$33 million
