Australian fire zone declared a crime scene

Officials believe arson may be behind at least some of the more than 400 fires that tore a destructive path across a vast swath of southern Victoria state over the weekend. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd, visibly upset during a television interview, reflected national disgust at the idea."What do you say about anyone like that?" Rudd said. "There's no words to describe it, other than it's mass murder."

Police have sealed off at least two towns Marysville and Kinglake where dozens of deaths occurred setting up roadside checkpoints and controlling access to the area.Victoria Police Commissioner Christine Nixon said specialist fire investigators were on the ground at one fire site, in Churchill, east of Melbourne, and would go to others.

Kinglake is "where the most deaths are, but wherever a death has occurred we investigate that as a crime," Nixon told Australian Broadcasting Corp. radio.Anyone found guilty of lighting a wildfire that causes death faces 25 years in prison in Victoria. However, a murder conviction could result in a life sentence, said federal Attorney General Robert McClelland.

At least 750 homes were destroyed. Officials said both the tolls of human life and property would almost certainly rise.Stunned survivors were gathering at dozens of emergency relief centers at town halls and schools.At the town of Whittlesea, 7 miles (12 kilometers) west of the Kinglake region, survivors sat in the dirt outside, accepting cups of coffee and sandwiches being handed out by volunteers. Others hugged each other with tears in their eyes.