Overview

• Tsunami warnings for Hawaii were downgraded to advisories late Tuesday, leading officials to lift evacuation orders across the state.
• Heavy traffic jams on Maui’s coastal highways spurred urgent calls online for alternative inland routes.
• Social media posts claiming Oprah Winfrey blocked her private estate road were countered by statements from her spokesperson and the Maui Police Department.
• Emergency management alerts and a fact-checking note on X confirmed that law enforcement and FEMA crews have kept the private road open for evacuees.
• Winfrey’s decision echoes her previous practice of opening the route during the 2019 brush fire and 2023 wildfires to aid evacuations.