Jason Momoa Warns Against Maui Visits Amid Devastation

Jason Momoa has urged tourists to avoid traveling to Maui as the island struggles to recover from devastating wildfires that have left more than 90 people dead.

"Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now," the native Hawaiian and "Aquaman" actor wrote on Instagram. "Do not travel. Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply."

Momoa's post included a video in which he said that the Hawaiian community "needs time to heal, grieve and restore."

"That means the less visitors on the island taking up critical resources that have become extremely limited the better," he added.

Meanwhile, celebrities and tourists are facing criticism for continuing to travel to the island despite the destruction. Paris Hilton was recently spotted vacationing in Maui, while Oprah Winfrey's camera crew was denied entry to an emergency shelter while delivering supplies, the Independent reported.

Officials have requested tourists stay home amid rescue and search efforts.

"Visitors who are on non-essential travel are being asked to leave Maui, and non-essential travel to Maui is strongly discouraged at this time," an official statement cited by the Daily Mail read.

"In the days and weeks ahead, our collective resources and attention must be focused on the recovery of residents and communities that were forced to evacuate their homes and businesses."

Residents of Maui have also criticized tourists who were seen swimming at the beach while locals were still counting the dead.

"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," one local told the BBC. "That says a lot about where their heart and mind is through all of this, and where our heart and mind is now."

She said no Hawaiian would be "swimming, snorkeling, surfing" under the given circumstances.

"Nobody is having fun in tragedy and continuing their lives as if nothing happened," she said. "There is two Hawaiis now. The Hawaii we're living in and the Hawaii they're living in."

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