New studies tie unrecognized deaths and health problems to Maui and LA wildfires

NEW YORK -- The toll of wildfires is usually counted in acres burnt, property destroyed and lives lost to smoke and flames. But three studies published Wednesday suggest the cost to human health from the Maui and Los Angeles wildfires was substantially higher.

Two of the papers explore what happened after the Hawaii fire in August 2023 — one of the deadliest U.S. wildfires in a century. A third looks at the Los Angeles wildfires earlier this year.

The Maui fire was directly blamed for more than 100 deaths. But it also left 1 in 5 with lung damage and as many as half with symptoms of depression, the new research found. The month of the fire saw 13 suicide and overdose deaths, translating to nearly double the normal suicide and overdose death rates.

The study of the Los Angeles fires concluded that in addition to at least 30 deaths attributed to the fire, more than 400 other deaths could be blamed on the event, due to interruptions in health care and other factors.

The studies, published in two American Medical Association journals, add "a really important piece to the understanding of the true health risks from these extreme climatic events,” said Dr. Jonathan Patz, a University of Wisconsin environmental public health researcher who was not involved in the papers.

The results conform with existing understanding of the effects of extreme weather events, some experts said.

How to track the indirect impacts of disastrous events has been a continuing subject of academic research and even legislative proposals. There have been estimates of deaths caused by extreme heat, as well as research into the large-scale toll of wildfires driven by climate change.

“But this hones in, especially on (specific) fires,” Patz said.

One of the studies, co-led by Ruben Juarez of the University of Hawaii, looked at more than 1,100 adults six to 14 months after the Maui fire. It found lower lung function in people in areas close to the fire compared with those in lower-exposure areas. Overall, about 22% had below-normal lung function.

“It’s a stark reminder that wildfires can leave an invisible but lasting scar on respiratory health, long after the flames are gone,” Juarez said, in an email, noting that this Friday marks the two-year anniversary of the fire.

Patz called the finding “an important new contribution.”

Kristie Ebi of the University of Washington echoed that, noting that there is a growing understanding that wildfire smoke can be more toxic than standard air pollution.

“It’s not just leaves and branches and trees” that are burned, she said. “It’s buildings. It’s gasoline stations. It’s old houses that have asbestos in them. It’s automobiles. There are lots of components of wildfire smoke.”

She said the study suggests “this toxicity is affecting people's long-term lung function.”

Of course, the researchers don't know exactly how much smoke each person was exposed to, and other studies would need to be done to explore cause-and-effect, she added.

The study also found 40% saying their health had declined since the fires, with close to half talking about increased fatigue and weakness, eye irritation and lung-related symptoms.

Jonathan Purtle of New York University was the lead author of another study, which calculated rates of suicide and overdose deaths in Maui and Hawaii's four other counties. That research team found a 97% increase in suicides and overdose death rates on Maui during the month of the wildfires. The total number of suicide and overdose deaths was 13 that month — most of them suicides. That's a significant increase, Ebi said.

They also found a 46% increase in such deaths in all five counties, which may have been influenced by displaced Maui residents migrating to other islands, the authors said.

The increases did not last: Rates fells in the following months, the researchers found.

The third study was led by researchers in Finland. They used mathematical modeling to estimate that there were 440 more deaths in Los Angeles County from Jan. 5 to Feb. 1 than what would normally have been expected, and said those are related to the fires.

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