Fire Watch: Oprah Winfrey's Newly Purchased 870 Acres in Maui Near Raging Hawaii Wildfires
Oprah Winfrey's newly purchased land in Maui could be at stake as several fires are blazing through homes and buildings across the island, RadarOnline.com has learned.
Earlier this year, the media mogul put down $6.6 million to obtain four large parcels totaling up to 870 acres in Kula. Prior to her purchase, she already owned hundreds of acres of land in Kula and in Hāna, according to Maui Now.
Evacuation orders are in place in several counties as the flames are fanned by strong winds from Hurricane Dora, a Category 4 storm. That mixed with low humidity fueled sent locals fleeing for safety to escape the inferno on Tuesday.
"The Coast Guard has been responding to impacted areas where residents are entering the ocean due to smoke and fire conditions," Maui County officials said in a statement. "Individuals were transported by the Coast Guard to safe areas."
Meanwhile, residents have spoken out about the calamity and the damage being left behind to the place they call home. "Lahaina has been devastated," one told CNN. "People jumping in the ocean to escape the flames, being rescued by the Coast Guard. All boat owners are being asked to rescue people. It's apocalyptic."
RadarOnline.com has reached out to reps for Winfrey for comment.
Months ago, Winfrey's purchase was criticized by some who feared it would lead to the displacement of native Hawaiians, while other lawmakers spoke out in support.
Maui Sen. Lynn DeCoite praised her contributions to the community, including a $100,000 donation to the Women's Fund of Hawai'i.
"She's always been a great steward of our land, to preserve it," DeCoite shared, KITV-4 reported. "I wish we had more people like her that consider when they purchase lands, that they consider some of the reactions of the community from the past of how we've just been inundated with a whole lot of development and tourism."
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Councilmember Yuki Lei Sugimura also expressed her thoughts. "I'm gonna guess that she has an axis deer problem, hog problem in her yard right now," the public figure said. "We're struggling, we're putting tax dollars together to try to do fencing and culling. We want to protect our food for food security as well as protect the watershed so those are the big issues and she's stepping right into them."
Sugimura also noted Winfrey hires local residents for work opportunities.
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