US EditionMaui wildfires leaves lingering mental trauma in the aftermath
HAWAII, AUG 8 – Mental health experts report a nearly 50% increase in suicide and overdose deaths statewide and call for expanded services to address ongoing trauma from the wildfires.
- On the eve of the second anniversary, Maui wildfires leveled Lahaina, claiming more than 100 lives, marking two years since the disaster.
- Experts caution that many Maui families are still healing and facing lasting mental trauma, urging public health systems to prepare for more serious issues from climate-related disasters.
- Maui experienced a near doubling of suicide and drug overdose fatalities, peaking in August 2023, after the Lahaina fires.
- Alex Ortega said `This is really a call for increasing mental health services capacity in Hawaii in general, but more specifically in Maui because even a year after the wildfire or two years after now, we're still seeing devastating mental health impacts` to address ongoing trauma.
- As aid dwindles, Maui's economy remains strained, with local families exhausting their savings after two years and programs ending in 2026.
11 Articles
11 Articles
Suicides, overdoses increase 182% on Maui post-fires: New study
HONOLULU (KHON2) -- In the wake of the August 2023 wildfires that devastated Lāhainā and much of West Maui, a sharp and deeply troubling trend has emerged: a surge in suicide and overdose deaths unlike anything Hawaiʻi has seen in nearly a decade. A new study led by the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa has confirmed what many suspected in the aftermath of the fires. Rates of suicide and drug overdose skyrocketed, and Maui was hit hardest. Māl…
Mick Fleetwood marks two years since the devastating Maui wildfires
Mick Fleetwood attends the 2025 MusiCares Persons of the Year Honoring The Grateful Dead at the Los Angeles Convention Center on January 31, 2025 in Los Angeles, California. Photo by Matt Winkelmeyer/Getty Images for The Recording Academy Mick Fleetwood is marking two years since the devastating wildfires that destroyed parts of Maui, Hawaii. The Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder shared a picture on Instagram of the fire scorched sign from his r…
Mick Fleetwood marks two years since the devastating Maui wildfires - Everett Post
Mick Fleetwood is marking two years since the devastating wildfires that destroyed parts of Maui, Hawaii. The Fleetwood Mac drummer and founder shared a picture on Instagram of the fire scorched sign from his restaurant, Fleetwood’s on Front Street, which was lost in the fires writing, “Two years ago today, the heart of Lahaina was devastated by fires…..Taking with it not just our beloved Fleetwood’s on Front Street, but so much of what made thi…
New study links 2023 Maui wildfire to spike in suicide, overdose - Scientific Inquirer
Deaths by suicide and drug overdose significantly increased in the aftermath of the August 2023 Maui wildfire, according to a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA). The study, led by Alex Ortega, dean of the Thompson School of Social Work and Public Health, and Keawe‘aimoku Kaholokula, chair of the Department of Native Hawaiian Health, in the John A. Burns School of Medicine, both at the University of Hawa…
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