In Hawaii, coral is the foundation of life. What happened to it after the Lahaina wildfire?

Abraham “Snake” Ah Hee rides waves when the surf’s up and dives for octopus and shells when the water is calm. The lifelong Lahaina, Hawaii, resident spends so much time in the ocean that his wife jokes he needs to wet his gills.

But these days Ah Hee is worried the water fronting his Maui hometown may not be safe after the deadliest U.S. wildfire in a century scorched more than 2,000 buildings in August and left behind piles of toxic debris. He is concerned runoff could carry contaminants into the ocean where they could get into the coral, seaweed and food chain.

“Now with all these things happening, you don’t know if the fish is good to eat,” Ah Hee said.

Scientists say there has never been another instance of a large urban fire burning next to a coral reef anywhere in the world and they are using the Maui wildfire as a chance to study how chemicals and metals from burned plastics, lead paint and lithium-ion batteries might affect delicate reef ecosystems.

<bsp-list-loadmore data-module="" class=«PageListStandardB» data-gtm-region=«READ MORE» data-gtm-topic=«No Value» data-show-loadmore=«true» data-gtm-modulestyle=«List B»> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> READ MORE </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Firefighters face difficult weather conditions as they battle the largest wildfire in Texas history </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Texas Panhandle ranchers face losses and grim task of removing dead cattle killed by wildfires </bsp-custom-headline> <bsp-custom-headline custom-headline=«div»> Gov. Abbott says Texas wildfires may have destroyed up to 500 structures </bsp-custom-headline> </bsp-list-loadmore>

The research, which is already underway