1 year after Lahaina fire, SoCal scientists say coral reefs recovering

LAHAINA, Hawaii (KABC) -- When flames ripped across Maui a year ago, the world could see the damage that was wrought on the small coastal town of Lahaina. But what was harder to see was the damage possibly done to the delicate coral reefs that surrounded the decimated town.

Now, a year later, researchers are releasing the results of a reef survey. And their findings are optimistic.

"Even though the land looks completely changed, under the water you can really see reefs that look fairly healthy and comparable to elsewhere around Maui," said Dr. Orion McCarthy, a member of a research team from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego. "I don't think there's been the immediate mass die off of corals that some people had feared directly after the fire."

In the wake of the fire, scientists have been keeping a watchful eye on Lahaina's vibrant marine world. The research team has been surveying the reef, checking to see what, if any, damage has been done because of the fire.

"We basically saw the reefs from there all the way up past right next to where the fire was burning...so we can track the impact of that dump site on the reef," McCarthy said.

By "dump site" he's referring to the area of the reef hardest hit by the fire. Even though the flames never touched the underwater life, runoff from the firefighting efforts washed countless amounts of toxins and pollution into this delicate ecosystem.

And even though there are no signs of reef damage, the researchers say they will continue monitoring the coral to see if the fire will leave any long-term impacts.

"I think it's too soon to say exactly what those impacts will be," said McCarthy.