The CFA advice is to leave early - either the night before or that morning. And that most people will find family or friends to stay with.

As a treechanger my closest family members are in Frankston, or I could head to Kangaroo Ground. Perhaps not.

And my friends are also dotted around the Mornington Peninsula, with others in, oddly enough, Glenlyon, Daylesford and Hepburn Springs.

Now I can afford a motel if needed but in February, when my husband and I evacuated as the bushfire spread throughout Daylesford, we were refused accommodation because we had dogs.

Never mind that they are both house-trained and we were desperate for lodging.

Instead, and we will be forever grateful, we ended up at the Kyneton Caravan Park - in a cabin where we were all welcome at no cost.

I know there are no easy answers but there are so many questions.

Can I swap a Code Red day for day of sick leave and head to Melbourne? Maybe two days of sick leave equals one Code Red day? Perhaps it's annual leave?

And can I take my dog to work? What if everyone takes their pets to work? Will my workplace provide a cage or a kennel and will my workmates see it as part of the work duties to top up a water bowl?

While I'm wondering, should I help an elderly neighbour to find shelter? But what if they want to stay and defend. Should I just drive away?

Last summer, I never thought about any of these questions.

This summer, I think about them a lot.

On February 23 from Kyneton, we called to check on an older neighbour. It was about 9pm, they had their car packed, were under ember attack and just waiting "to see what happens".

We urged them to leave but could not drive back to help them.

It was a terrible, sleepless night.

I fear there are more to come.