Editorial Development: Bonnie Brook Communications

 1. What will Captain Rothstein probably do next?
A 
fix the damage caused by the meteor
B 
pilot the Phoenix Colony back to Earth
C 
ignore the meteor shower 
D 
take a different job on the ship
 2. What is probably one of Captain Rothstein’s 
personal goals?
A 
to return to Earth
B 
to stand on solid ground 
C 
to learn Earth’s history
D 
to visit with her grandfather
 3. What will Captain Rothstein probably investigate 
in the future?
A 
how to improve the air quality on the ship
B 
what her grandfather looked like
C 
how to stop meteors from flying through space
D 
whether the Earth-like planet can support 
human life 
 4. What will the Phoenix Colony continue to do?
A 
fight in Earth’s wars
B 
research the causes of meteors
C 
provide a home for Earth’s descendants 
D 
improve life-support warning systems
STRATEGY PRACTICE
Describe a time you were away from your usual surroundings. How did you feel?
 
 
Prediction
3458.indb 182
10/31/12 7:35 AM

---

© Evan-Moor Corp. • EMC 3458 • Daily Reading Comprehension 
183
Name: 
WEEK 29
DAY 5
READ THE PASSAGE
Look for the causes and effects of the Cedar Fire in California.
The Inferno of 2003
On Saturday, October 25, 2003, an inexperienced deer hunter lost his way in the Cleveland National 
Forest in San Diego County, California. The hunter wandered around hopelessly lost for seven hours. 
As more time passed, he became very thirsty and increasingly panicked. At roughly 5:30 p.m., he started a 
small signal fire as a call for help. Unfortunately, the fire found its way to some tinder-dry forest brush. The 
resulting fire—one of several that scorched the state that dry October—became known as the Cedar Fire.
For five hours after it started, the Cedar Fire burned slowly, but with a little wind, it began to spread. 
According to the 
Los Angeles Times,
the fire was much like “a pancake on a griddle.” But then it began to 
pick up. At around 11:00 p.m., a fire chief saw 60 acres catch fire in the blink of an eye. Flames reaching as 
high as 75 feet leapt into the sky. At midnight, the hot, dry Santa Ana winds roared in from the northeast. 
The winds pushed the fire along in a line that was about five miles wide. It blew burning embers ahead, 
allowing the flames to leap forward hundreds of feet at a time. At one point, the fire jumped across 
Interstate 15—twelve lanes wide—and melted its asphalt. The Cedar Fire transformed 280,000 acres of 
land and 2,300 homes to ash and cinders—and it killed 15 people. It was the largest fire in California 
history.
The weather, which had added to the fire’s ferocity, eventually helped put an end to it. The Santa Ana 
winds died down on October 27, and rain came on November 1. Ten days after it started, the Cedar Fire 
was contained, and it was completely controlled a month later.