Australian fires toll reaches 173

As the death toll rose to at least 173 in Australia's worst wildfire disaster, suspicions that some of the 400 blazes were caused by arson led police to declare crime scenes in some of the incinerated towns.

The fires near Melbourne in south-eastern Australia, destroyed more than 750 homes, left 5,000 people homeless, and burned 850 square miles of land.

Whole forests were reduced to leafless, charred trunks. Farmland was turned to ashes.

The scale of the disaster shocked a nation that endures deadly firestorms every few years. Officials said panic and the freight-train speed of the walls of flames probably accounted for the unusually high death toll.

Jack Barber, who with his wife, six cats and a dog sought refuge with five other people on a cricket field surrounded by trees in Kinglake, said: "It was very quick and ferocious and took everyone by surprise.

"All around us was 100ft flames ringing the oval, and we ran where the wind wasn't. It was swirling all over the place. For three hours, we dodged the wind."

Firefighters battled with more than a dozen blazes that burned out of control across Victoria state, although conditions were much cooler than Saturday. Forecasters said temperatures would rise later this week, posing a risk of flare-ups.

Blazes have been burning for weeks across several states in southern Australia, common for the time of year.

But the worst drought in a century in the south has left forests extra dry, and Saturday's temperature was 47C.