The grim numbers just keep getting grimmer. The death toll from the wildfires in Maui, Hawaii, has now reached 93, according to an August 12 update from the County of Maui. That makes these Maui wildfires the deadliest in modern American history. Yes, that’s right, the deadliest, topping the 85 lives that the Camp Fire in Northern California claimed in 2018. And unfortunately, there’s no guarantee that this 93 number won’t keep rising over the next few days and weeks.
You’d have to go back to the 1918 Cloquet fire in northern Minnesota that killed 453 people to find an American wildfire that’s been deadlier. If you are wondering why the year 1918 sounds familiar, that happened to be the year when another big pandemic occurred: the 1918 influenza pandemic.
The Maui wildfires have also damaged or destroyed over 2,200 different structures. With close to $6 billion in estimated damages, this will likely be the largest natural disaster that Hawaii has ever experienced since it became a state in 1959, according to Hawaii governor Josh Green.
Then there’s the plant life and other wildlife in Maui. It’s difficult to estimate the full impact that these wildfires will have on Maui’s ecosystem. And what happens to Maui’s ecosystem will eventually come around to negatively impact humans because humans are heavily integrated parts of that ecosystem.
You may have heard the saying that a picture is worth a thousand words. But when you see the devastation from the following ABC News drone footage, there are no words:
The bleak, gray landscape in this drone footage is not exactly the image that you typically see in Hawaii travel brochures. Instead, this is destruction that could take a long time to fully reverse. The remaining burnt out palm trees look exhausted from fending off the blaze. And you can still see smoke rising in many places, signifying the potential presence of smoldering fires.
Such widespread devastation has left Maui in critical condition. There has certainly been the immediate toll on human life and health. Wildfires can kill you in many ways. One is by engulfing you in flames and burning your skin and everything around and under it. Even if you initially survive such burns, the loss of the natural protection that your skin typically offers can leave you highly susceptible to a dangerous amount of fluid loss and life-threatening infections.
Another way wildfires can kill you is via smoke inhalation. The smoke and fumes generated by wildfires are intensely hot—often well beyond what a stove or heater may generate. And since wildfires burn all kinds of materials on the ground, ranging from underbrush to rotting organic material to plastic to fuel, the smoke can be filled with lots of particulate matter and toxic materials. Inhaling such hot smoke can do major damage to your lungs. Damage to your lungs can not only make it more difficult to breathe, it can also trigger a cascade of inflammation and chemical release in your body that can send many of your different organ systems spiraling downwards.
A third way is by all sorts of secondary injuries resulting from the destruction caused by the wildfires. Burning and melting structures can collapse and fall on you. There can also be explosions, especially when fires reach the one thing that gets them even hotter: namely fuel such as the gasoline found in various cars and tanks. These explosions can cause you direct injury and lead to flying shrapnel that you can’t just simply dodge.
All of these obviously can kill you. But even if they don’t, the resulting injuries can be substantial. So the death toll of 93 only captures a fraction of the human suffering that’s resulted from these wildfires.
Then there’s the damage to the infrastructure that’s happened, which, in turn, can lead to even more health problems. It can be easy to take things like electrical power, clean water and hygiene for granted. But these things have been in short supply in Maui. Lots of residents have been without power. An unsafe water advisory has been in effect for areas affected by the wildfires such as in Upper Kula and Lahaina. And who knows how many people have been going without standard supplies such as food and hygiene products.
On the positive side, the County of Maui did report on Saturday that firefighters have been able to extinguish more flare-ups in the Lahaina and Upcountry Maui fires and fully contain the Pulehu/Kīhei fire. The American Red Cross has set up an emergency evacuation shelter. Lahaina Gateway Center and Napili Plaza have been serving as distribution center for food, water and other supplies. Kaiser Permanente outpatient health and medical clinics have been operating through extended hours. In addition to food, bottled water and hygeine products, Maui residents have been requesting coolers, slippers, underwear, flashlights and generators. Donated Wi-Fi trucks have been providing Wi-Fi service and helping people charge cellphones.
While these relief efforts are certainly helping, one has to wonder what will happen when news of this Maui disaster fades and people start turning their attention to other things such as what celebrity is wearing what and what political leader is saying what. The impact of a wildfire isn’t like a TikTok video, a YouTube short or even a Hollywood movie. It doesn’t just go away once you ignore it. There likely will be numerous longer-term effects on people’s mental, physical, social, and financial health.
For example, how many more asthma attacks, cardiovascular problems, strokes and cancers will there be in the coming weeks, months and years? How will Maui residents cope with the devastation? What will be the impact on the infrastructure and economy there? Who will be there to pick up the pieces once the attentions of political and business leaders around the U.S. inevitably shift to something else?
Add the Maui wildfires to the growing list of devastating wildfires that have been popping up with disturbing frequency in recent years. Data from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) show that the “extent of area burned by wildfires each year appears to have increased since the 1980s” and “The peak of the U.S. wildfire season is occurring earlier.” These clearly are not good trends. Climate change has manifested in warmer temperatures and drier conditions that, in turn, can be making vegetation more likely to catch fire.
In the meantime, many political leaders have been dragging their feet in properly addressing climate change and reducing the pollution that may be contributing to it. All of this suggests that over time the impact of wildfires may unfortunately spread like, well, wildfire.
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