Noticed something a bit worrying today - according to official warnings, the area where I am currently living, south east Queensland, the fire danger is rated at 'Very High'. That's not too bad - there are another two levels above that: 'Extreme' and 'Catastrophic'.

What concerns me though is the number of 'permit burns' going on, given we are just one 40C windy day away from extreme conditions. A 'permit burn' is when a farmer is given permission to carry out a fuel reduction burn on their property. Typically they will try to create a buffer between their property and an adjoining National Park - which makes sense - but is this the right time of year to be doing that?

There is a 50-50 chance of some storms coming through this week. If we get that rain, things should be ok. If we don't, all those fires - and I can see two of them from my porch which have already been burning for three weeks - are going to explode.