In August of 2023,<\/span> a series of wildfires broke out across Maui, killing more than 100 people, destroying thousands of homes, and causing billions in damage. Noelani Ahia, who is Kanaka Maoli and co-founder of Maui Medic Healers Hui, helped mobilize nearly 600 volunteers in L?hain?, including doctors, nurses, and therapists.\u00a0<\/p>\n Three years later, the housing and health crises remain acute. Maui Medic Healers Hui runs a free clinic, but Ahia wishes it had 10 more to address the community\u2019s needs. \u201cThe fire may be out, but the catastrophe is not over by any stretch of the imagination,\u201d she said.\u00a0<\/p>\n The devastation extended well beyond the lives lost and buildings destroyed. Research published last year by researchers with the University of Hawai?i at M?noa\u2019s Maui Wildfire Exposure Study, or MauiWES, found that more than 1 in 5 residents<\/a> had reduced lung function.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Now, new research from the same project has found elevated levels of toxic metals<\/a> in the island\u2019s residents months after the fires, with higher exposure associated with impaired lung function. The findings offer further evidence that the health consequences of catastrophic wildfires<\/a> can persist long after the flames are extinguished and the smoke clears.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we consider and sometimes look at as a one-time event isn\u2019t really one-time anymore,\u201d Alika Maunakea, who is Kanaka Maoli and co-director of MauiWES, told Grist.\u00a0<\/p>\n Researchers don\u2019t yet know how much of the contamination came from the fires and how much was already present in the environment. That distinction matters as wildfires increasingly race through towns like L?hain? and cities like Los Angeles, where burning homes, cars and infrastructure can leave contaminants<\/a> that people encounter for months<\/a> or years afterward.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have traditionally thought about wildfire exposure primarily through the lens of smoke,\u201d Maunakea said in a press release. \u201cBut when an entire community burns, we are dealing with a much more complicated exposure environment.\u201d Researchers must also understand what contaminants were already present, what the fire may have released, and what entered residents\u2019 bodies, he said.<\/p>\n The research, which studied 1,400 adults across Maui six to 18 months after the fires, measured 24 metals in urine samples. It found that participants had higher concentrations of several metals than people in a nationwide health survey conducted before the fires. That included 2.2 times as much arsenic, 2.3 times as much barium, and 3.8 times as much manganese. Antimony, which is used in flame-retardant materials and has been previously linked to lung irritation, stomach pain, and other symptoms<\/a>, was found at levels nearly 40 times higher.<\/p>\n Because the researchers lack comparable data from before the fires, they could not determine how much of the metal exposure resulted from the disaster. Maunakea told Grist answering that question is the next step for the project, which has received a $3.6 million grant from the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. That work will include investigating whether and to what degree past agricultural and industrial activity contributed to the contamination.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s important to realize that these are all part of settler colonialism,\u201d Ahia said. \u201cSo what we\u2019re looking at is confounding factors that are to the detriment of the health of our local people.\u201d<\/p>\n Decades of plantation agriculture altered water systems, introduced herbicides, and displaced native plants, leaving a legacy on the islands that is still felt today. Disasters like fires and storms can compound those ongoing environmental problems.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cIf we begin the story when the fire starts, we miss the decisions that shaped the landscape and the community\u2019s ability to respond,\u201d said Katie Kamelamela, who is Kanaka Maoli and an assistant professor at Arizona State University based in Hawai?i. \u201cMicro climate change acts on places already shaped by histories of land ownership, water diversion, development, and unequal access to resources.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/theintercept.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/10\/Maui-wildfire-lahaina-strong.webp?fit=2000%2C1333\")