More than 400 indirect deaths linked to LA wildfires, study says

More than 400 additional deaths are estimated to be linked to the wildfires that ravaged Los Angeles earlier this year, according to a new study.

The figure, published on Wednesday in the medical journal JAMA, looks at deaths that have been attributed to factors caused by the wildfires, like poor air quality and delays in accessing healthcare.

It is a higher figure than the official death toll tallied by Los Angeles County, which counts deaths caused directly by the fires and jumped to 31 last month after additional human remains were found.

The study comes as hundreds of wildfires burn across the US and Canada, prompting air quality advisories in cities like Chicago, Buffalo and New York.

The Palisades and Eaton fires tore through the Los Angeles area in January, destroying thousands of structures and leading to the evacuation of more than 100,000 in the area.

The latest study revealed that around 440 people are estimated to have died as a result of the wildfires between 5 January and 1 February.

Researchers said they tallied the figure by looking at all deaths and their causes in Los Angeles during the period of the fires, and comparing it to similar data from previous years.

The results show that there were nearly 7% more deaths during the wildfires. Some are attributed to lung and heart conditions exacerbated by smoke or stress, while others are more indirect – like delayed healthcare treatment for dialysis or cancer patients as a result of fire-related disruptions.

The authors said that the findings underscore the need for officials to count both direct and indirect fatalities of wildfires and other climate-related emergencies when trying to quantify their impact.

“They also highlight the need for improved mortality surveillance during and after wildfire emergencies,” the authors said, noting that their figures are provisional as there may have been additional fire-related deaths beyond the scope of the study.

In response to an inquiry from the BBC, a spokesperson for Los Angeles County Department of Public Health said the agency had “no specific comment on the study”.

“However, it is not unusual for emergencies or disasters to unfortunately result in either premature or excess deaths,” the spokesperson said.

“These types of incidents often overwhelm systems, disrupt normal life-sustaining services, and often expose people to harmful environments, leading to earlier-than-expected and more-than-expected deaths.”

Another study released on Wednesday in JAMA that looked at the aftermath of the 2023 Maui wildfires showed that 22% of adults in the region had reduced lung function, and half displayed symptoms of depression.

The fires, which broke out in August 2023 and were the worst to affect Hawaii in recent history, killed at least 102 people and destroyed more than 2,000 structures.

The authors of the Maui study said their results show the need for “sustained clinical monitoring and community-based mental health supports” months after a climate disaster.

A second study on the Hawaii fires suggests that Maui saw the highest suicide and drug overdose rates in the month of the 2023 wildfires.

Wildfires have become more frequent in recent years as a result of climate change, driven by hotter and drier weather that fuels fire spread.

In addition to directly threatening lives and structures, smoke from wildfires has been shown to have adverse health effects on people.

Wildfire smoke has been found to be harmful to certain immune cells in the lungs, with a toxicity four times greater than particulates from other types of pollution.

This can have a long-term impact on cardiovascular health, experts have said.

Older people, pregnant women and young children, as well as those with underlying health conditions, such as heart disease or asthma, are more likely to get sick, experts say. But the smoke can also impact healthy adults.