California Fires

Sunday, November 16, 2008

I immediately took notice of the online version of the New York Times article, “Firefighters Struggle to Contain California Fires,” because of the graphic images that accompanied it. The beginning of the article is set up with a summarizing lead, and it sheds light on the catastrophic effects of the California wildfires.

This article is jam-packed with information; the number of people that have been evacuated, the percentage of the fires that have been contained, and countless locations that have been affected by the fires. Although this data was informative, I found it to be somewhat overwhelming at times.

The article continues in this heavily-informative style until the final few paragraphs where it talks about a specific example that makes the disaster real for readers. It talks about the impact of the fire on the Oakridge mobile home park, and shares quotes from some of the residents who lost their homes.

The addition of such a specific example of how the fire impacted California residents brings the story full circle. Although the story maintained a very suspenseful tone throughout, the stories of the Oakridge residents has an even larger impact.

A tentative outline for this article would include the following:

1. Summarize the overall effect that the fires have had on California

2. Share cumulative data on the fire

3. Describe how the situation is being handled by government and fire department officials

4. Relate some of the personal stories of those who have been affected

5. Make readers aware of the current status of the fires