‘Disaster capitalism’ piles on top of California blazes and power outages

US-california-fire A fire burns in San Bernardino, CA on OCtober 31. | Photo by JOSH EDELSON/AFP via Getty Images

Fires raging in San Francisco’s Bay Area and in the greater Los Angeles area have already forced hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate their homes or be stranded without power in preemptive blackouts aimed at stemming new blazes. But as residents check their social media feeds for emergency updates, they’re seeing something more — social media is swimming with promotions for solar power, back-up generators, and air purifiers.

The frenzy has almost become an expected side effect of fire season. “Here in California, in the wealthy tech-heavy region of the Bay, the fires offer a glimpse of an emerging form of disaster capitalism,” Alexis Madrigal wrote for The Atlantic in the midst of historic...

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