Doug Specht

Jan 31, 2025 | theinvadingsea.com | Doug Specht

By Doug Specht, University of WestminsterThe Los Angeles wildfires have exposed a controversial practice that starkly illustrates the divide between the city’s wealthy elite and the general population. As public firefighters struggle to cope, affluent residents and businesses have turned to private firefighting services to protect their properties.

Jan 21, 2025 | theconversation.com | Doug Specht

The Los Angeles wildfires have exposed a controversial practice that starkly illustrates the divide between the city’s wealthy elite and the general population. As public firefighters struggle to cope, affluent residents and businesses have turned to private firefighting services to protect their properties. This trend has ignited a heated debate about inequality, the allocation of finite disaster defence resources, and the ethics of privatising essential emergency services.

Jan 21, 2025 | tolerance.ca | Doug Specht

By Doug Specht, Reader in Cultural Geography and Communication, University of Westminster The Los Angeles wildfires have exposed a controversial practice that starkly illustrates the divide between the city’s wealthy elite and the general population. As public firefighters struggle to cope, affluent residents and businesses have turned to private firefighting services to protect their properties.

Jan 16, 2025 | emergencyservicestimes.com | Lanna Deamer |Doug Specht

October to April is normally considered to be the wet season in California, yet this January, the region is experiencing some of the most devastating fires it’s ever seen. As of 10 January, five major fires in and around Los Angeles have burned over 29,053 acres, leading to the evacuation of more than 180,000 people, the destruction of over 2,000 buildings (mainly homes), and an estimated damage cost of at least $52bn (£42.5bn).

Jan 15, 2025 | climatechangenews.com | Doug Specht

Doug Specht is a reader in cultural geography and communication at the University of Westminster. October to April is normally considered to be the wet season in California, yet this January, the region is experiencing some of the most devastating fires it’s ever seen.