In the wake of deadly wildfires in Maui, native Hawaiian actor Jason Momoa cautioned against traveling to Maui.
“Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now,” Momoa wrote in an Instagram post. “DO NOT TRAVEL TO MAUI. Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply.”
Momoa’s exhortation comes after wildfires broke out on Aug. 9 and rapidly spread across western Maui. These wildfires have become the deadliest ones the U.S. has experienced in over a century, per the Deseret News.
The Maui Police Department confirmed 96 people have died, according to The Associated Press. People continue to be missing. Teams are searching the streets and buildings.
Around 4,500 people on the island are believed to need shelter, The Guardian reported.
“I will tell you this, as a physician, it is a harrowing sight in Maui. When those providers, the police and this division, do come across scenes in houses or businesses it is very difficult for them because they know, ultimately, they will be sharing with our people that there have been more fatalities. I do expect the numbers to rise,” Hawaii Gov. Josh Green told The Associated Press.
Local officials reportedly have asked tourists to not come to Maui as hotels are being used to house people who had to evacuate the area, The Guardian reported.
“In the weeks ahead, the collective resources and attention of the federal, state and county government, the West Maui community, and the travel industry must be focused on the recovery of residents who were forced to evacuate their homes and businesses,” the Hawaii Tourism Authority said in a statement reported by The Guardian.
A local Hawaiian resident told BBC, “The same waters that our people just died in three days ago are the same waters the very next day these visitors — tourists — were swimming in. That says a lot about where their heart and mind is through all of this, and where our heart and mind is now.”