She's been through this before.
And that experience is both a blessing and a curse as Jackie Pendergast braces for the inevitable.
For weeks now, Ms Pendergast and husband Kelvin, with the help of son Clinton, have been preparing their Pendarra Merino stud for catastrophic fires.
With blazes to the north, south, east and west of their 650-hectare Benambra property, Ms Pendergast is pragmatic.
"There's a very real possibility one of these fires will arrive," she said.
"We've all known what was going to happen this year, even though you hoped it wouldn't.
"The worst part of it is the waiting.
"You know it's rambling around out there in the bush somewhere and all it needs is the right day and the right temperature, the right wind and it'll come.
"Unless we can get inches and inches of rain, we don't see that it's not going to come."
Despite that, Ms Pendergast seems remarkably calm.
So calm, I asked whether she had any apprehensions at all.
"Oh, hell yes," she said.
"You should have seen me on Saturday when fire looked like coming through.
"When I saw that smoke billowing up and coming closer, I thought, 'Oh, okay, now I remember 2003'.
"Of course, you've always got apprehension about it but all we can do is be prepared as we can and hope that, when it comes out into the clear country, it hasn't got a roaring wind behind it and we can in some way control it."
In 2003, fire tore through 1.3 million hectares in Victoria's alpine region, killing more than 9000 livestock.
Among them more than 200 of Pendarra's sheep.
"One of the worst things after the 2003 fires was the livestock deaths," Ms Pendergast said.
"It was just horrible.
"It's not something I ever want to see again.
"To have to put them down is just terrible."
One thing that doesn't worry Ms Pendergast is the prospect of day-to-day life after the fire.
"When the 2003 fires went through, we had no power for about eight days," she said.
"We had the generator, we'd stocked up on food and other supplies so, honestly, we didn't notice much.
"You know, if you live in these areas, you've got to be prepared."
As well as watering the house lawn to create a green buffer, cleaning gutters and whipper snippering dead grass around infrastructure like hay sheds, the Pendergasts have made extensive preparations for life after fire.
Mr Pendergast has put fire breaks around hay and shearing sheds, the house and other key assets.
There are batteries for the radio, full water tanks and enough food supplies to last them weeks.
UHT milk and other long-life foods are stacked in the hallway.
Meat is preserved in cryovac packaging and the Pendergasts learned to perfect their barbecuing for everyday meals in the aftermath of the 2003 fire.
The Pendergasts' plan for the day the fire eventually arrives at their property will adapt to the conditions but they do already have a clear strategy in mind.
Mr and Ms Pendergast each have a slip-on firefighting unit, as does their son, Clinton, who will be there to help defend the family's property.
"Kelvin has been a CFA volunteer for 30 years and Clinton is a member of the Bairnsdale brigade," Ms Pendergast said.
"They will be wherever the fire comes from, they'll be following it around a bit, they'll be wherever they need to be in the paddocks.
"I'll be patrolling between the house and nearby sheds.
"Kelvin will move the sheep to safer places and yard the youngest sheep and ram lambs."
While the family had successfully defended key infrastructure in 2003, it had taken years to recover.
Asked what advice she would have for others, Ms Pendergast said people mattered most.
"Your family and your friends at that time are so, so important, you really can't place a value on them," she said.
"Some say they didn't want to ring and disturb you but having people ring up and being concerned about you makes an incredible difference.
"The worst thing you can do is bottle it all up and not talk to anybody because it will come back and bite you later.
"If you can walk out with the people that you love still in your life, you've had a win."