{"id":22703,"date":"2025-07-31T15:28:12","date_gmt":"2025-07-31T15:28:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703"},"modified":"2025-07-31T15:28:12","modified_gmt":"2025-07-31T15:28:12","slug":"oprah-responds-to-claims-about-keeping-private-road-closed-during-hawaii-tsunami-evacuation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703","title":{"rendered":"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>Tsunami waves have begun hitting Hawaii after a major 8.8 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. In Hawaii, people have been urged to find higher ground, and as people fled in their cars, claims about Maui resident Oprah Winfrey began spreading online. Claims about her not opening up her private gate to help people get to higher grounds left many furious. Now, the former talk show host has responded.<\/p><div class=\"qcyxj69f7a03e36bc0\" ><div style=\"width:100%; max-width:1200px; margin:0 auto;\">\n  <a href=\"https:\/\/bolt-casino.com?r=0BFDBF1283\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">\n    <img \n      src=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/f8693ebb-2018-480f-a2f7-0096810c07f0.jpg\" \n      alt=\"200% Deposit Bonus + 10% Cashback\" \n      style=\"width:100%; height:auto; display:block; border-radius:8px; cursor:pointer;\"\n    \/>\n  <\/a>\n<\/div><\/div><style type=\"text\/css\">\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 1201px) {\r\n.qcyxj69f7a03e36bc0 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 993px) and (max-width: 1200px) {\r\n.qcyxj69f7a03e36bc0 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 769px) and (max-width: 992px) {\r\n.qcyxj69f7a03e36bc0 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 768px) {\r\n.qcyxj69f7a03e36bc0 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n@media screen and (max-width: 767px) {\r\n.qcyxj69f7a03e36bc0 {\r\ndisplay: block;\r\n}\r\n}\r\n<\/style>\r\n\n<p>Oprah Winfrey has come under heavy fire on social media after claims about her not opening her private road on her Maui estate after people began evacuating in Hawaii following the tsunami warning on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>The powerful 8.8-magnitude undersea earthquake off the Russian eastern coast triggered tsunami waves, with the first hitting Hawaii late on Tuesday.<\/p>\n<p>Tsunami waves were also recorded on California\u2019s northern coast early Wednesday. In Russia, near the epicenter of the earthquake, several buildings were damaged. One kindergarten collapsed, but luckily, no injuries were reported.. Meanwhile, state media TASS declared a state of emergency.<\/p>\n<p>CNN reported water rushing between buildings, sweeping away large debris and damaging industrial infrastructure. Hokkaido, the northernmost island in Japan, was also hit by tsunami waves. More than two million people across 21 prefectures were under localized evacuation advisories shortly after the tsunami warning. As of now, no reports about casualties have been reported.<\/p>\n<p>Besides the US, Russia, and Japan, many other countries in the Pacific were under tsunami watch, including the Philippines, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Panama, Taiwan, Indonesia, and Ecuador. Tsunami warnings were also active in Alaska.<\/p>\n<p>On Maui, people raged about Oprah after a video went viral on the platform X, formerly known as Twitter. In the post, one person filmed a long line of cars, and one person claimed Winfrey was refusing to open her gated road, which would help those evacuating trying to get to safety.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cLook at this. I think they\u2019re trying to open Oprah\u2019s road. C\u2019mon Oprah, save us\u2026 Everybody trying to get in. Cops trying to open it. Nope, still closed,\u201d a man said in one viral video, in which the gates of the road were visible. \u201cWe\u2019re stuck and a tsunami is coming.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Oprah Winfrey owns a ranch in Kula, Hawaii, according to Hawaii News Now. The road, named Thompson Road, is, according to the news outlet, a \u201cpublic road that runs through private property owned by the Oprah Winfrey Ranch.\u201d NBC News also reported that there is a \u201cpublic road that runs through Winfrey\u2019s ranch in Kula.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>As the viral video spread, many shared their fury towards the former talk show host.<\/p>\n<p>One post read, \u201cWhy hasn\u2019t Oprah opened her road? This could save lives\u2026\u201d while a second user said: \u201cOprah HAS NOT opened her private road from Wailea to Kula, Hawaii, which would allow coastal folks to reach higher ground quickly, locals tell me. Open the road Oprah! Roads on Maui are GRIDLOCKED as people try to escape the incoming tsunami.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A third X user claimed, \u201cA potentially life-saving route is being kept closed while people are stuck in cars with sirens blaring.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, it didn\u2019t take long before Oprah\u2019s private road was opened, which allowed people to escape to higher and safer grounds.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cBREAKING: Following INTENSE public pressure, Oprah\u2019s private road has been OPENED to those escaping the tsunami WELL DONE, EVERYONE! It should\u2019ve been opened HOURS ago, but if you\u2019re in Wailea on Maui and need to get to higher ground, USE OPRAH\u2019S ROAD NOW! Haleakala Ranch Rd, Maui, HI.\u201d X user Nick Sortor wrote.<\/p>\n<p>A community note was added to the viral video posted on X, which has been viewed more than two million times, citing the Mau Police Department saying the road is open.<\/p>\n<p>As per Newsweek, guidance under the Traffic Section of the police department\u2019s Tsunami Warning Update, dated 7:16 p.m., July 29, reads \u201cMaui Veterans Highway is congested; use Cane Haul Road toward Hansen and Pulehu roads to get to Kula. Road above Makena Golf Course provides access to Ulupalakua. Also, Oprah\u2019s road is open to get Upcountry, according to Maui Police Department.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>It didn\u2019t take long before Oprah Winfrey\u2019s spokesperson also commented on the matter, saying that the claims about the road being closed were false.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA to ensure the road was opened. Any reports otherwise are false. Local law enforcement are currently on site helping residents through 50 cars at a time to ensure everyone\u2019s safety. The road will remain open as long as necessary,\u201d the spokesperson told Newsweek.<\/p>\n<p>Thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by the tsunami across the world.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Tsunami waves have begun hitting Hawaii after a major 8.8 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. In Hawaii, people have been urged to find higher ground, and as people fled in their cars, claims about Maui resident Oprah Winfrey began spreading online. Claims about her not opening up her private gate to help people&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":22704,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_kad_post_transparent":"default","_kad_post_title":"default","_kad_post_layout":"default","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"default","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"default","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-22703","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation - VM News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation - VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Tsunami waves have begun hitting Hawaii after a major 8.8 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. In Hawaii, people have been urged to find higher ground, and as people fled in their cars, claims about Maui resident Oprah Winfrey began spreading online. Claims about her not opening up her private gate to help people...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"VM News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-07-31T15:28:12+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1250\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"vmfavorite\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"vmfavorite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad\"},\"headline\":\"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-31T15:28:12+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703\"},\"wordCount\":799,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703\",\"name\":\"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation - VM News\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-07-31T15:28:12+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg\",\"width\":1000,\"height\":1250},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/\",\"name\":\"VM News\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad\",\"name\":\"vmfavorite\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ae7ad0af0818c5b3c7c52f4610bfa26e9985055e4db731befcf55c2fdcfd9b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ae7ad0af0818c5b3c7c52f4610bfa26e9985055e4db731befcf55c2fdcfd9b?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"vmfavorite\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation - VM News","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation - VM News","og_description":"Tsunami waves have begun hitting Hawaii after a major 8.8 earthquake near the Kamchatka Peninsula in Russia. In Hawaii, people have been urged to find higher ground, and as people fled in their cars, claims about Maui resident Oprah Winfrey began spreading online. Claims about her not opening up her private gate to help people...","og_url":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703","og_site_name":"VM News","article_published_time":"2025-07-31T15:28:12+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":1250,"url":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"vmfavorite","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"vmfavorite","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703"},"author":{"name":"vmfavorite","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad"},"headline":"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation","datePublished":"2025-07-31T15:28:12+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703"},"wordCount":799,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg","inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703","url":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703","name":"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation - VM News","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg","datePublished":"2025-07-31T15:28:12+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/525864966_772481055278028_1385898263658121994_n.jpg","width":1000,"height":1250},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?p=22703#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Oprah responds to claims about keeping private road closed during Hawaii tsunami evacuation"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/","name":"VM News","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/a2e30a4c480fba08110aa92dceebedad","name":"vmfavorite","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ae7ad0af0818c5b3c7c52f4610bfa26e9985055e4db731befcf55c2fdcfd9b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/25ae7ad0af0818c5b3c7c52f4610bfa26e9985055e4db731befcf55c2fdcfd9b?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"vmfavorite"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/news-vm.com"],"url":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22703","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=22703"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22703\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":22705,"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/22703\/revisions\/22705"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/22704"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=22703"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=22703"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news-vm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=22703"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}