- Scores of people fled their homes in southern Australia on Monday after strong winds fanned still-burning wildfires, triggering fears of a new wave of destruction after the blazes that killed more than 200 people this month.


At least two new fires also ignited in Victoria, where fires swept a vast area of the state on Feb. 7, destroying more than 1,800 homes in the country's worst fire disaster.

Some of the blazes have been burning for weeks in the state and had mostly been contained by firefighters hosing down the edges and building firebreaks.

But after several days of temperatures in the low 80s F (high 20s C), temperature went up into the mid-80s F (mid-30s C) Monday, while gusting winds caused one big fire to flare and at least two new ones were started.

At least one house was destroyed in the suburb of Belgrave South as a fire lapped at the forested fringes of Melbourne, the capital of Victoria, the

said. Two firefighters suffered minor injuries fighting the blaze, said

, a state environment department spokesman.

Residents were warned to either leave their homes early or prepare themselves to fight the fires. Many said the carnage of the Feb. 7 fires made the decision to stay or go an easy one.

"I'm no hero - take the house," one unnamed woman told

television as she prepared to leave the town of Warburton, where homes were threatened by a resurgent fire that has burned for weeks.

Relief centers in nearby towns filled with people who had loaded their cars with photos, clothes and other personal belongings and left their houses to wait out the emergency.

Country Fire Authority officials said properties most under threat were around Belgrave and Upwey on the eastern verge of Melbourne and at

, about 50 miles (80 kilometers) northeast. At least two of Monday's fires were new, started by embers carried by winds from other fires or unknown causes, the fire authority said.

The conditions were far less severe than on Feb. 7, when record temperatures of around 117 F (47 C) and 60-mph (100-kph) winds created what officials have dubbed "Black Saturday." The confirmed death toll stands at 209 and is expected to rise as more remains are identified from the ruins.



's daughter Princess Anne toured the disaster zone on Monday, a day after arriving in Australia to attend ceremonies marking a national day of mourning for the victims.

Princess Anne met firefighters and other emergency workers in the town of Wandong.

Some 7,500 people were displaced by the fires, and some entire towns lie in ruins. Some sites remain sealed off by police as they search for bodies and evidence of arson. One man has been charged with starting one of the deadly fires, and arson is suspected in at least one other.


and Victoria

announced Monday that the two governments would pay all the cleanup costs of people affected by the fires.

Brumby said a contractor would be selected by the end of the week to begin demolishing damaged buildings and clearing away rubble in the disaster zone. Families would get cleanup services worth up to 25,000 Australian dollars ($16,000) each.

"The cleanup task is absolutely crucial to getting on with the task of rebuilding," Brumby told reporters in Melbourne. He declined to give a total cost for the plan.