A new study published in JAMA Psychiatry finds that the mental health impacts of the Maui wildfires extend beyond the burn zone. In this cross-sectional study of 2,453 adults, residents within wildfire burn zones had a 53% higher risk of depression and 67% higher risk of anxiety compared with unexposed individuals, with suicidal ideation not significantly higher within burn zones but elevated among residents outside burn zones. Housing displacement and income loss jointly accounted for more than half of the associations with depression and anxiety.

“‘These findings show that the wildfire’s psychological toll is not confined to the areas that burned,’ said lead author and UHERO Professor Ruben Juarez. ‘The social and economic disruption—especially housing instability and income disruption—is driving much of the distress we see across the community.'”

https://www.hawaii.edu/news/2026/03/11/mauiwes-mental-health-crisis/