The toll of wildfires is usually counted in acres burnt, property destroyed and lives lost to smoke and flames. But three studies published Wednesday suggest the cost to human health from the Maui and Los Angeles wildfires was substantially higher.

Wildfires that tore through Los Angeles early this year may have caused hundreds more deaths than official reports show, Boston University researchers suggest.

New evacuations have been ordered in Central California as the massive Gifford Fire nears 100,000 acres burned. The fire is the largest of the year in California with more than 96,000 acres scorched,