With the death toll currently at 96 people, the Maui fires have been utterly devastating. An estimated 2,200 structures — mostly residential — have been damaged or destroyed, and 2,170 acres have burned. The historic town of Lahaina (the former capital of the Hawaiian Kingdom) has been reduced to rubble and ash.
Over the weekend, Auli'i Cravalho shared a list of resources on Instagram, as well as much-needed physical items people can donate.
"On a personal note, I feel numb and close to tears every time I talk about this," she wrote. "Of all the natural disasters we have faced; earthquakes, hurricanes, tsunamis and flooding… to say we were under-prepared for this disaster is an understatement."
"DO NOT TRAVEL TO HAWAI'I UNLESS YOU ARE RENDERING AID. This has been declared a FEDERAL DISASTER. Your vacation can wait. My heart and funds and donations are headed your way, Hawai'i, even if I physically am not," she concluded.
Soon after the post, she commented and thanked her fans for their generosity. "It’s been less than an hour, and you all have already met the $1k goal I set. Mahalo. THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart. I know it isn’t a time of excess. Again, if all you can offer is prayer, it is greatly appreciated. If you are able to give an article of clothing, towels, a dollar, etc… my donation and link to other resources will stay up."
She wasn't the only Polynesian celeb to speak out about the fires. Jason Momoa — who's also Kānaka Maoli (Native Hawaiian) — has shared numerous posts and ways to help.
"Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now. DO NOT TRAVEL TO MAUI. Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply. Mahalo to everyone who has donated and shown aloha to the community in this time of need," he wrote.
And Dwayne Johnson — who is Samoan and spent part of his childhood in Hawai'i — shared a video on Instagram yesterday.
"I’m completely heartbroken over this, and I know that all of you are too. Everything that I’ve seen transpire over these past couple of days, everything that continues to transpire, hour-by-hour, minute-by-minute, it's all heartbreaking," he said.
In the caption, he wrote, "Heartbroken but our faith and mana is strong. First responders, health care teams, hotels, locals businesses, boots on the ground organizations and all our local heroes, stay strong — we love you and appreciate you."
"All our local families, our ohana, our aiga, stay strong thru this devastating time. Resilience resolve is our DNA. Our ancestors are in our blood. This is who we are. This is what we do. I love you. Stay strong," he concluded.
