‘Coral are going to die’: Maui wildfires take toxic toll on marine ecology

Contaminants from the fires could damage marine life, and hardy non-native grasses might grow and kindle the next fire

As the toll from Maui's catastrophic wildfires continues to climb, experts warn the disaster also poses a grave threat to the coral reefs and delicate ocean ecosystems that surround the devastated town of Lahaina.

Layers of charred soils and toxic contaminants were left among the wreckage, where thousands of buildings and blackened cars lie in smoldering ruins. The conflagration that claimed more lives than any other US wildfire in the last century burned to the shoreline, littering underwater habitats with scorched boats and debris. The ashen aftermath could end up wreaking more havoc if allowed to slip into the aquatic environment.