 I'm Gem Gem. I live with my family in Strathuin, northeast of Melbourne. On one side of our house is bush, on the other side of our house is paddocks. Strathuin has a school, a fire station, a community hall and tennis courts. Walking to school with Will and Allie, we see on the sign that today's fire danger rating is low moderate. The fire danger rating tells us if a fire started, how dangerous a bush fire or grass fire could be. The more dangerous the fire, the harder it is to put out. Days like these, the air is cooler and full of moisture. So Will and Allie wear long pants and jackets to stay warm. I have a nice vert coat, so I'm pretty happy. It's been raining a little lately, so the dam is full and the ground is wet under our feet. We splash in the puddles and see heaps of animals out and about. Walking to school again, the fire danger rating is high. The sky is blue, the sun is shining and there are a few clouds about. It is a mild temperature so Will and Allie wear jeans, jumpers but no coats. We see a wombat wandering around on the green lawn and a kangaroo eating green grass in the paddock. After school we help Dad test the fire pump and we pack our bush fire survival bags, checking that we still fit into our long sleeve cotton shirts and pants and our sturdy boots. The fire danger rating is very high today. The sky is clear and the sun is shining brightly. The dam is getting lower and the mud around the edge is getting hard and starting to crack a little. Dad has 774 on in the background on warm days and keeps his mobile on to keep track of any alerts on the Vic emergency app. Today we saw a blue tongue lizard stretched out on the road enjoying the sunshine. When I got home from school I helped Mum and Dad clean up around the house. We rake leaves and small sticks and mow the paddock. It's been really warming up lately so tonight we watched the news and found out that tomorrow's fire danger rating is severe and a total fire ban. We put our bush fire survival bags in the car before we leave for school. That way if we need to leave early our stuff is already packed. The air is hot and dry and the paddocks have turned from green to yellow. On the way to school we pass a wombat keeping cool in its burrow and a kangaroo laying in the shade under a tree. We also see heaps of birds flying south towards the coast. Will and Allie say it was so hot that they played inside at school all day. Mum checks the Vic emergency app to see if there has been any fires nearby during the day. They hose me down so I don't get too hot. The news says tomorrow's fire danger rating will be extreme and a total fire ban. As the sun sets we do a tidy up around the house and test all the pumps. The leaves are brown and crunchy and they crack underfoot. When we wake up it is already hot. The wind is blowing leaves and dust into our eyes. We pass the fire station and the truck is out the front. We wave to Captain Jimmy and he says the wind is hot because it is coming from the north. We decide not to stay home today. Our whole family heads into the city for the day. We return home in the late afternoon after checking there are no fires near our town. There are no animals around except a ring-tail opossum crossing the road heading towards the dam in search of water. The news says tomorrow's fire danger rating is code red and a total fire ban. Code red days happen once every 5 to 10 years but if a fire is started it is the worst condition for a fire so we decide to leave the night before. We pack the car early and drive to our friend's house in the suburbs where it is safe from bush fires. On the way to our friend's place the wind is so strong it nearly blows our car off the road. We swim all afternoon in our friend's pool when the sun goes down the cool change comes. The wind stops and the temperature drops so we go back home for the night. It rains on the way home. We watch the weather forecast on the tv and the temperature is going to be 30 degrees tomorrow. I wonder what tomorrow's fire danger rating will be. I know how to find out. Do you?