Sydney, Australia — As blazes burned wildly around Australia's largest city for a 10th day and thousands fled their homes today, police discovered the remains of what might have been two homemade bombs used by arsonists to set tinder-dry forests afire.
More than 100 bush fires raging out of control near Sydney and in its suburbs were fanned by hot, dry and swirling winds. Smoke clouds towered above the city of 4 million people.
At Sussex Inlet, a coastal hamlet about 120 miles south of Sydney, about 5,000 residents and summer vacationers fled a massive fire storm that burned as many as 12 homes and damaged others.
That brought to almost 160 the number of houses lost since the "black Christmas" wildfire emergency began Christmas Eve.
Many people braved choking smoke and a fast-moving fire front and drove out of the town. Firefighters, mostly volunteers, frantically engaged in a house-by-house battle to save lives and property.
New South Wales state Premier Bob Carr vowed to punish those "driven by madness and wickedness" to start fires.
At least half of the wildfires have been deliberately lighted since the crisis started Christmas Eve. Police have arrested 21 arson suspects.
These include 14 juveniles, aged between 9 and 16 years, and characterized as troublemakers bored during a current summer school vacation.
"I want to rub their noses in the ashes they have caused," Carr said.
While adult offenders would face prison terms of up to 14 years, young firebugs would be made to confront burn victims and families who lost homes. They would work on rehabilitation projects for scorched forests.
As the hunt for more arsonists continued, police said they found the pieces of what appeared to be incendiary devices at two separate charred bushland sites, including one where fierce flames threatened hundreds of homes, just 11 miles from downtown Sydney.
Senior Deputy Police Commissioner Ken Moroney said the device found there was "capable of being ignited and causing substantial damage," national news agency Australian Associated Press reported.
He declined to give more details, saying police feared copycat attacks.
Some residents had reported hearing an explosion just before the fire broke out Tuesday and triggered two days of havoc across Sydney's affluent northern suburbs.
Firefighters, who at times were forced to take water from backyard swimming pools, were still trying to contain that blaze on Wednesday night.
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