Story: California Battles Devastating Wildfires, 10/24/07
http://www.pbs.org/newshour/extra/features/july-dec07/fire_10-24.html

Reading Comprehension Questions:

1. What is happening in southern California?

2. Why are the Santa Ana winds important?

3. Do firefighters think they can stop the fire?

4. What happened in 2003?

5. Where are families in the evacuation areas going?

6. What was President Bush's response to the fires?

7. What event was the federal government criticized for responding too slow to?

8. How are surrounding states helping?

Discussion Activity (more research might be needed):

1. What would you do if your home was threatened by a wildfire?

2. How can you prevent wildfires from starting?

3. How is this crisis similar to what happened during Hurricane Katrina? How is it different? Was the government more prepared to deal with an evacuation this time?

4. What do you think of Sen. Boxer's statement that the ability of the state's National Guard has been compromised because too much of their equipment and personnel is in Iraq? Other officials have said there is plenty of equipment, but the winds are making it impossible to get the planes up in the air. How would you figure out who is right? Do you think it was fair of Sen. Boxer to use the fires to criticize President Bush or was it a cheap shot?

Write a 300-500 word essay on any of the topics in this exercise providing clear examples. Send your completed editorial to NewsHour Extra (extra@newshour.org). Exceptional essays might be published on our Web site.