Oprah Winfrey promised she would make a “major donation” to rebuild Maui after the devastating wildfires that devastated the city of Lahaina, killing at least 93.
In a forward-facing video posted to Instagram, Winfrey told her followers she spent time at the war memorial shelter, reaching out to survivors about their immediate needs.
“If you don’t know what to do, do what you can,” she said, noting that she picked up basic supplies like shampoo, sheets and towels and brought them to the shelter.
“At some point I will make a big donation after all the smoke and ash settles here and we figure out what the rebuild is going to look like,” she said.
Earlier in the day, a CBS film crew traveling with Winfrey had been denied entry to the war memorial shelter, despite a BBC film crew being allowed entry last week.
Burnt homes and buildings in the aftermath of the wildfires in Lahaina, Maui. The death toll from the fires rose to 93 on Sunday
Winfrey added that the rebuilding process will be “long and difficult,” but noted that Hawaiians are a “strongly cultural people” and “family-loving people.”
“You’ll see a lot of Phoenix stories rise from the ashes,” she said.
She told a story about a man named Julius she had met at the shelter, who told her he could hear the skin “popping” off his legs when he ran to escape the fire last week.
He had bandages on his wounds as he related how his car’s tires had melted into the earth, but in the end he told Winfrey that he didn’t need anything because his life had already been spared.
Earlier on Sunday, Oprah and a CBS camera crew were denied entry to the war memorial shelter in Wailuku, where the famous part-time Maui resident was told there was a strict no media policy at the shelter.
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.’
About 30 minutes after the post, the county clarified that Oprah was allowed in, but not her crew.
The denial comes days after Oprah was filmed last week at a shelter distributing supplies to survivors of the deadly fires that claimed 93 lives.
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 initially 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
The devastated resort town of Lahaina, essentially razed to the ground by a raging wildfire last week
“Oprah was able to visit our shelter and we thank her for instructing media journalists and camera crews to stay out,” the county wrote in an update on Oprah attempting to enter the shelter.
“We welcome Oprah to continue lifting the spirit of our community and giving her aloha to the victims of the tragic disaster.
“Her visit to the shelter today was truly heartwarming and we appreciate her understanding of our policy of not having camera crews or reporters accompanying dignitaries and celebrities in our emergency shelters,”
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 she went to big box stores to pick up pillows, diapers, 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 approximately 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.
On Saturday, Governor Josh Green toured the devastation on Lahaina’s historic Front Street.
He said, “It will certainly be the worst natural disaster Hawaii has ever faced.
“We can only wait and support those who are alive. Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and provide them with housing and health care, and then to rebuild.”
At least 2,200 buildings were damaged or destroyed in West Maui, Green said, 86 percent of which were residential.
Island-wide, he added, damage is estimated at nearly $6 billion. Green said it will take an “incredible amount of time” to recover.
Speak against CNNHawaii Senator Mazie Hirono spoke about what she saw on Maui after the fires.
The Democrat said, “The scenes of devastation will stay with me. We are in a period of mourning and loss as we search for more people who are still missing.”
Six active fires raged in Maui and the Big Island, destroying the city of Lahaina
At least two other fires have burned on Maui with no reported fatalities so far: in the Kihei area of southern Maui and in the mountainous, inland communities known as Upcountry.
A fourth broke out Friday night in Kaanapali, a coastal community north of Lahaina, but crews were able to put it out, authorities said.
Peg Alm slept in her truck Wednesday night after she was forced from her home in Kuhei when another fire broke out.
“I didn’t know about Lahaina until the next day because we had to evacuate,” she told DailyMail.com.
After seeing those heartbreaking photos of the devastation on the local news, Alm volunteered to help with the relief effort after answering a social media call.
“I was tired of waking up and crying all morning,” she says before wiping away more tears as she recounts her memories of the historic seaside town.
“This is like the soul of the island has been torn apart,” says the Michigan resident, who has lived on Maui for 15 years.