Question

kini newsom, 12, loved looking out at the blue waters of the pacific ocean from her front porch. she lived with her family on the hawaiian island of maui in lahaina - the same town her mom had grown up in. her grandparents lived nearby.
but kinis life changed forever on august 8.
thats when several wildfires roared to life on maui. the biggest one engulfed lahaina, with strong winds causing the flames to spread quickly through the area.
the intense blaze caught many people by surprise because the emergency siren had not gone off to warn them. additionally, some people didnt realize that the wildfire was coming because the power and internet service in many areas had already been knocked out by a hurricane.
by the time the fire was over, it had killed at least 100 people. more than 2,200 houses and buildings had been demolished.
what was it like to live through this devastating event? we asked kini to share her powerful story.
pause and think. why did the wildfire catch people by surprise?
when did you realize there was a wildfire nearby?
i looked out the window and saw smoke. my mom is a firefighter, so i knew she was probably there. “can we get a closer look at the fire?” i asked my dad.
we drove to my neighbors house because they have a patio up high with a good view. i saw a huge cloud of black smoke. we could hear explosions, which my dad told me was the sound of fuel tanks or cars blowing up.
my dad is a firefighter too, and he wanted to go to the lahaina fire station so that he could listen to the radio and help. he said, “were probably going to stay the night, so just pack a change of clothes or two.”
pause and think. what kind of work do kinis parents do?
vocabulary
egulfed: swept over and covered completely
demolished: destroyed beyond repair
devastating: causing great damage, harm, or emotional pain
destroying: destroying something completely
memorial: for the purpose of remembering a person who has died or an event in which many people died

Explanation:

The text appears to be a narrative about a wild - fire incident on Maui, with vocabulary definitions provided. It seems to be a reading comprehension or language - learning material. The main question "Why did the wildfire catch people by surprise?" can be answered by referring to the details in the text which state that the emergency siren did not go off and power/ internet outages due to a hurricane prevented people from being aware.

Answer:

The wildfire caught people by surprise because the emergency siren had not gone off to warn them and the power and internet service in many areas had already been knocked out by a hurricane, so some people didn't realize the wildfire was coming.