Environmental Impacts of Maui Wildfires

The wildfires in Maui may finally be fully contained, but the environmental impact left in the wake of the the infernos will last for years to come, experts told ABC News.

As the Maui community begins to heal from the wildfires that killed more than 100 people and incinerated a large portion of the island, residents will now start to grapple with the painstaking cleanup and rebuilding phase, an emotional process that could also contain health risks, the experts said.

The cleanup process will need to be done “very carefully,” due to the hazards, Kristina Dahl, senior climate scientist at the Union of Concerned Scientists, told ABC News.

“The health and safety impacts of the Maui fires go beyond the initial blaze due to the variety of air pollutants released,” David Broday, professor of civil and environmental engineering at the Technion – Israel Institute of Technology, told ABC News.

The biggest issue will be to figure out how to handle all that waste, Aaron Poentis, a disaster restoration expert and regional account manager at First Onsite Property Restoration, a Honolulu-based building restoration service, told ABC News.

The burning of biomass releases soot and various gases, which alone can cause respiratory problems, Broday said.

Much of the debris will be toxic, due to combustion byproducts released amid the blaze, Poentis said, adding that the biggest concerns are asbestos and lead, based on the types of buildings that were lost.