After Maui wildfires, researchers launch decade-long study on health effects of fire exposure

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LĀHAINĀ, Hawai‘i — About once a month, Alika Maunakea and Ruben Juarez and their staff fly medical equipment from the University of Hawai‘i on O‘ahu to the west side of Maui. On the edge of the Lāhainā burn zone, the two researchers transform the local health center into an impromptu lab. They collect blood, urine, DNA, and health measures like mental health and lung function scores for the Maui Wildfire Exposure Study or MauiWES, one of the largest and most comprehensive postfire investigations in the country.

Scientists still understand little about how wildfire exposure harms health, particularly wildland and urban ones like the fires that burned down Lāhainā and thousands of acres on Maui in August 2023. The hope is that data collected over the decade after the fire will show how to better mitigate the risk of cancers, lung diseases, or other health conditions that have been linked to fire exposure. It’s also knowledge that’s urgently needed, as the threat of wildfire is growing throughout Western states and beyond.

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