An ant among elephants
“…to be an ant among elephants” is a metaphor used to emphasize the size of the sequoia trees. Just like ants are smaller and inconspicuous compared to elephants, the same way Akira felt standing amidst the large sequoia trees. Being in the midst of those trees made her feel small and invisible. She felt insignificant although in a good way because she realized that there were bigger and more conspicuous things that would be interesting around her. She did not like being the center of the universe and so that was a relief. In a place full of elephants, nobody would bother looking for ants since they are so small.
Red flag warning
The "red flag" is used metaphorically to mean danger. A red flag is normally used in situations where something bad is expected to happen as a result of previous attributes or conditions. In the book, the danger that was lurking was of fire outbreak because of the predicted strong winds and dry conditions. The National Weather Service issued a warning which warned the citizens to be on the lookout and stay safe.
Christmas trees
“Oaks and maples lit up like Christmas trees, their burning leaves glowing like strands of orange bulbs.” Christmas trees are known to be very bright and glowing just like orange bulbs. The comparison has been used to exaggerate the intensity through which the oaks and maple trees were burning. They were glowing so bright one would have thought they were Christmas trees. They were burning fiercely and with rage that has never been witnessed.
Embers
“More embers rattled on the roof like hail” This simile is used to compare the loudness and hardness by which the embers were hitting the roof of their car. Hails are known to be so deafening which gives us a clear picture of the annoying sound of the embers on the roof of the car. A fire that produces so many embers that were noisy like that indicates how big the fire was.
Matchsticks
“Where trees were igniting like matchsticks.” Lighting a matchstick takes little effort and has been compared to the ease by which the burning trees at the edge of the parking lot were spreading fast. Once a matchstick is lit, it spreads its fire to the others so fast just like the trees were spreading their fire onto the next. Just like matchsticks are arranged so were the trees at the parking lot, such that when one catches fire then all the others would also catch fire.
