KEY POINTS:
As Kiwi firefighters and police join the fight to contain Australia's most lethal fire, the weather gods are expected to bring a much-needed reprieve today in the form of cooler temperatures.
While the official death toll for Australia's worst natural disaster remains 181, the final figure is expected to climb as high as 500.
Wellington-born Harley Morgan, 57, is the latest New Zealander confirmed dead. He died alongside his wife, Errol, 70, after fire ripped through their Marysville home in rural Victoria.
Whakatane mother-of-three Tina Wilson, 36, and former New Zealand dancer, Eileen Zann, 62, also died in the fires.
Zann was trapped in her Kinglake home with her husband Richard, 64, and their daughter Eva, 25.
As Australians grapple with the news that at least some of the fires were deliberately lit, and arsonists are still suspected of being at work, Victoria police have charged one man with lighting a fire at Churchill, which killed 21 people, and possessing child pornography.
The blaze that razed Marysville is also being treated as suspicious.
This morning a 53-strong team of Kiwi firefighters will join exhausted Australian counterparts at Healesville, one of Victoria's most threatened areas where fires still rage.
Across the state 4500 firefighters are still battling 12 blazes.
The New Zealand contingent, led by Kevin Ihaka, 45, of Whangarei, comprises firefighters from the Department of Conservation, local authorities, the NZ Defence Force and privately contracted firefighters.
Ihaka helped fight Australian fires in 2006-2007.
"The big difference this time is the human cost. It's something we have never dealt with before - and something the Australians have never dealt with before."
The reception from the Australian people reflected the seriousness of the tragedy, Ihaka said.
"People are so grateful. It's quite humbling after what people have been through here."
The firefighters join two groups of New Zealand police and a contingent of Kiwi helicopter pilots flying airborne firefighting craft. Yesterday, the Kiwi police team specialising in identifying disaster victims was working in the worst-hit township, Marysville, with four cadaver dogs and their handlers.
The team of six disaster victim identification specialists, led by Senior Sergeant Richard McPhail, were working with two forensic dentists.
They are working alongside Australian colleagues searching for the estimated 100 people believed to have died in the township.
"It's devastating," said McPhail. "The scale of devastation and similarity to some of our home environments [means] it's about as close as we've got to home."
McPhail said the scale of the disaster was hard to take in, even though most of the team had also worked in Thailand after the 2004 tsunami.
The fires have swept across 413,000ha, leaving more than 7500 people homeless and destroying an estimated 1850 houses.
Some of the homeless, like Te Kuiti-born Emma Chamberline, 60, have set up homes in tents on football fields in towns outside affected areas.
Fires are still steadily burning just 45 minutes' drive from Melbourne and while there was no direct threat to settlements yesterday, firefighters were concerned rising temperatures during the week could lead to a repeat of what some are calling Black Saturday, when the blaze turned into a devastating firestorm eight days ago.
New Zealand's Red Cross and Salvation Army are accepting donations for those affected by the fires in Victoria.
Red Cross: Donations can be made by visiting redcross.org.nz, calling 0900 33 200 to make an automatic $20 donation, sending a cheque to Australian Bushfire Appeal, Red Cross House, PO Box 12140, Thorndon, Wellington, 6144, or by visiting any Red Cross service centre.
Salvation Army: Donate online at salvationarmy.org.nz or post to The Salvation Army, PO Box 27001, Marion Square, Wellington, 6164.
