THE death toll from Victoria's bushfires has been revised to 130, police say.

The number of confirmed fatalities at Kinglake West has been cut from nine to four after only one body was discovered in one of four burned-out cars near the tiny town.


"Initially, it was thought there were six people deceased in four vehicles on the Whittlesea-Kinglake Road but disaster victims identifications have searched the vehicles and found one body," a Victoria Police spokeswoman said. 

Meanwhile, a 33,000 hectare blaze was threatening the community of Won Wron just north of Yarram, in south Gippsland early this evening, the HeraldSun reports.

The bushfire threats are continuing across the state, as residents remain on high alert.

The bushfires have now claimed 35 people in the small hamlet of Kinglake and nine in Kinglake West.

New deaths have also been reported at Flowerdale, where four people have now perished, and at Clonbinane, near Kilmore, where one person is confirmed dead.

Earlier another death at Narbethong, in the upper Yarra Valley, bringing the body count there so far to nine.

Grief at the toll is now giving way to anger, as it has emerged more than one arsonist would have been responsible for several of the blazes which erupted in Victoria over the weekend, a fire criminologist believes.

About half of all bush fires in Australia are deliberately lit by fire bugs, Australian National University research fellow Dr Damon Muller said.

Given up to 400 fires hit Victoria over the weekend at varying locations across the state, Dr Muller believes more than one arsonist was at work.

Ten people have been confirmed dead at Marysville. Yarra Glen has one fatality.

The toll for St Andrews has been revised down from 10 to six.

A total of 19 people have been killed in Gippsland, with nine fatalities in the town of Callignee and one in Upper Callignee.

Police have warned it could take months to formally identify victims who perished in the state's deadliest bushfires on record.

Several Disaster Victim Identification teams are working in fire-affected areas trying to locate victims.

 


Insp Greg Hough said the process could take several weeks, and perhaps even months, for all the victims to be found and identified.

Victoria will have a royal commission into the devastating bushfires while a special new police taskforce will probe arson attacks.

Red Cross figures reveal more than 5000 people have evacuated their homes, with the majority now homeless.

But a Red Cross spokesman said it was too early to predict exact numbers.

"I don’t think it would be at 5000 just yet, but given the fact there are more than 700 homes gone, the number would easily be a couple of thousand,’’ he said.

The number of missing persons around the state is still unknown but could number over 100.

Australians have shown their compassion for victims of the devastating bushfires, raising millions of dollars to help their aid.

Donors have dug deep, pouring $5.6 million into the Victorian Bushfire Fund as at 3.30pm.


Read more on the HeraldSun online.