In August 2023, the deadliest fires the U.S. had seen in a century tore through Lāhainā, Maui, devastating the town and taking the lives of between 100 and 102 people, according to an official death count at the time — and, as the planet warms and the climate changes, scientists expect wildfires to grow in number.
Now, two years after those tragic Lāhainā wildfires, researchers have taken a closer look at the true mortality rate associated with the disaster by examining "excess deaths" in the region. This is a measure of the number of deaths that exceeded what's called the "baseline," or the number of deaths to be expected in a given region from any cause, not just wildfires.
