Oprah and crew turned away from shelter in Hawaii as survivors of tragic fires continue to gather
- Hawaiian part-time resident was evicted on Sunday despite being let in and caught on camera last week
- The billionaire TV host and businesswoman owns about 1,000 acres of land on Maui
Oprah Winfrey was denied access to an emergency shelter on the Hawaiian island of Maui where she had attempted to take a CBS camera crew as residents continue to struggle in the wake of the devastating fires that swept through Lahaina.
In a statement, the County of Maui said: “Out of respect for those who have come to seek safety and shelter in emergency shelters, our policy remains that no access will be given to media.”
“We welcome Oprah to continue to lift the spirit of our community and bring her aloha to the victims of the tragic disaster and appreciate her understanding of our policy of not having camera crews or reporters in our emergency shelters. Mahalo.’
Oprah Winfrey – a part-time resident of Maui – visits the war memorial where survivors of the devastating fire are being cared for
On Sunday morning, Winfrey and a CBS camera crew were turned away from the shelter and told they couldn’t enter due to a no-media policy
Winfrey was allowed to record in the shelter together with a BBC crew last Thursday
Burnt homes and buildings pictured in the aftermath of the wildfires in Lahaina, Maui. The death toll from the fires rose to 93 on Sunday
The devastated resort town of Lahaina, essentially razed to the ground by a raging wildfire last week
Late last week, Winfrey was allowed access to the War Memorial Stadium in Wailuku, which is used to shelter evacuees from the wildfires.
Despite the county’s policy of not allowing media access to the war memorial shelter, Winfrey was interviewed by the BBC at the shelter when she was there on Thursday to distribute supplies to survivors.
She told the BBC she had previously visited the evacuation point to ask what people needed, then went to big box shops to pick up pillows, nappies, shampoo and more, before returning to the shelter.
It’s not clear why the BBC was allowed to admit Winfrey to the shelter on Thursday, but the CBS news crew she arrived with on Sunday morning was denied entry.
Winfrey owns about 1,000 acres of land on Maui. It’s unclear how her property streamlined during the wildfires. Part of her real estate portfolio includes hundreds of acres of land in the Kula area southeast of Lahaina, the beach town devastated by the fires, according to the New York Times.
The known death toll from the fires rose to 93 on Sunday.
Dailymail.com has contacted the County of Maui for comment.
Winfrey’s Maui estate in the early 2000s. She owns some 1,000 acres in Maui
Oprah is one of many celebrities for whom the island of Maui plays host part-time
Donated clothing is placed in a parking lot for collections. Many families lost everything when their wooden houses went up in smoke
National Guard personnel divert traffic from wildfire-damaged areas in Lahaina on Sunday
Smoke rises from the fires near Lahaina. The forest fires were partly caused by strong winds
Oprah Winfrey is one of many celebrities who have homes on the island of Maui.
In addition to Oprah, the island plays part-time host to Jeff Bezos, Steven Tyler, Owen Wilson, Clint Eastwood, and Mick Fleetwood.
After the fires, Jeff Bezos and Lauren Sanchez pledged $100 million for recovery efforts on Maui.