I Survived the California Wildfires, 2018: Chapters 1–8

by Lauren Tarshis
In this twentieth book of the historical fiction I Survived series, eleven-year-old Josh Wallace is visiting relatives who live in the middle of a forest, when terrified animals race by, warning of the flames moving toward them.

Here are links to our lists for the novel: Chapters 1–8, Chapters 9–19
35 words 179 learners

Learn words with Flashcards and other activities

Definition First
Print Flashcards

Other learning activities

Answer a few questions about each word. Use this to prep for your next quiz! Compete with other teams in real time to see who answers the most questions correctly! Test your spelling acumen. Read the definition, listen to the word and try spelling it!

Teaching tools

Create and assign quizzes to your students to test their vocabulary. Assign learning activities including Practice, Vocabulary Jams and Spelling Bees to your students, and monitor their progress in real-time.

Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. devour
    destroy completely
    A massive wildfire was raging through the forest, a wall of flames devouring everything in its path.
  2. ember
    a hot, smoldering fragment of wood left from a fire
    Suddenly the air was filled with sparks and glowing embers and chunks of flaming wood.
  3. sear
    cause a burning or stinging pain
    Josh felt them landing on his bare arms and legs, sizzling against his skin, searing his scalp.
  4. agony
    intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain
    The fire’s roar, the moaning wind, the cracking and snapping of the trees. It was as though the air itself was shrieking in agony.
  5. shard
    a broken piece of a brittle artifact
    A burning pine tree in front of them exploded. Shards of splintered wood sprayed out.
  6. splinter
    break up into thin fragments
    A burning pine tree in front of them exploded. Shards of splintered wood sprayed out.
  7. blare
    make a loud noise
    But Josh spun around and took the shot just as the buzzer blared.
  8. smother
    envelop completely
    His team swarmed around him, smothering him in sweaty hugs.
  9. stressed
    suffering severe physical strain
    Dad was working at home today and was stressed out by an important deal he was working on.
  10. gape
    look with amazement
    Now Josh gaped at the dead trees around him—there had to be thousands of them.
  11. char
    burn slightly and superficially so as to affect color
    They reminded him of skeletons, all bare and charred and twisted, their spiked branches reaching out like bony arms. He was glad when he and Mom finally drove out of the burned area, and the forest turned green again.
  12. speckle
    mark with small spots
    Josh swung his head around, and his heart stopped when he saw it: a massive lizard with brown-and-black speckled skin.
  13. gleam
    shine brightly, like a star or a light
    Whatever it was, it was moving very fast, jaws open, teeth gleaming.
  14. glare
    look at with a fixed or angry gaze
    It glared at Josh through small, glowing yellow-brown eyes.
  15. refuge
    a safe place
    We take care of them until we can find them good homes, like a wildlife refuge, or a zoo where they treat the reptiles really well.
  16. aggressive
    characteristic of an enemy or one eager to fight
    “Some monitor lizards are really aggressive,” she went on. “But savannahs like Bubbles are calm. And super smart.”
  17. scuttle
    move about or proceed hurriedly
    Bubbles scuttled behind them on her stubby legs, sticking close to Josh like a golden retriever.
  18. streak
    a narrow marking of a different color from the background
    She had curly hair like Holly’s, except with a few streaks of gray.
  19. shift
    the time period during which you are at work
    “We just finished a shift at the fire station,” Lucas added. “Four days on duty without a break.”
  20. wince
    draw back, as with fear or pain
    Josh winced. He wanted King Kong to have a good dinner. But it was too bad for the rat that snakes didn’t like tacos.
  21. urgent
    compelling immediate action
    “Hey!” he called urgently. “Everyone come quick!”
  22. scamper
    run or move about quickly or lightly
    Bubbles stuck close to Josh, following him like a scampering puppy.
  23. gruesome
    shockingly repellent; inspiring horror
    Josh braced himself for a gruesome sight.
  24. venomous
    extremely poisonous or injurious
    But Holly had told him some pythons could be dangerous. They weren’t venomous like rattlesnakes or cobras. They killed their prey by squeezing them to death.
  25. expression
    the feelings shown on a person's face
    But Lucas had a worried expression on his face.
  26. pry
    move or force in an effort to get something open
    “Loose board in the floor. King must have managed to pry it up with his head and slip out.”
  27. shrivel
    wither, as with a loss of moisture
    They gathered around her, and she held up what looked like a beige sock—a very long, very dry, very shriveled beige sock.
    “King Kong finally shed his skin!” Holly said.
  28. captivity
    the state of being imprisoned
    “When pythons are kept in captivity, it’s harder for them to shed. They need to move across rough ground to get their skin off.”
  29. dusky
    lighted by or as if by twilight
    As they made their way through the dusky darkness, Josh glanced over his shoulder at the forest, which seemed to stretch on forever.
  30. lurk
    wait in hiding to attack
    King Kong was out there. Mountain lions, too.
    What else was lurking in these woods?
  31. snag
    obtain by acting quickly or smartly
    “That’s right—they call us wildland firefighters,” Lucas said, snagging a taco.
  32. base
    a station from which missions start and end
    “Cal Fire has a small air force for fighting wildfires,” Eleanor said, taking a scoop of rice and beans. “Twenty-two bases around the state, about one hundred aircraft. We’re usually the first to the scene when a wildfire breaks out.”
  33. retard
    cause to move more slowly or operate at a slower rate
    “This is our DC-10 air tanker,” she said. “This baby can fly over a fire and drop about twelve thousand gallons of water or flame retardant...that’s the red stuff that makes it harder for a fire to spread.”
  34. cockpit
    compartment where the pilot sits while flying an aircraft
    Josh studied the picture of the red-and-white helicopter. There was a person waving from the cockpit.
  35. policy
    a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group
    “For about one hundred years, it’s been our policy all over America to fight wildfires no matter what. That sounds smart, right? Protect our wilderness. But forests actually need wildfires to be healthy.”
Created on Tue Oct 24 18:37:53 EDT 2023 (updated Tue Oct 31 18:55:17 EDT 2023)

Sign up now (it’s free!)

Whether you’re a teacher or a learner, Vocabulary.com can put you or your class on the path to systematic vocabulary improvement.