Oprah’s CBS media crew DENIED entry to Hawaiian wildfire shelter

A CBS camera cred led by Oprah Winfrey was not allowed access to an emergency shelter in Maui, Hawaii after they had tried to secure access to the building. 

"Out of respect for those who have come to seek safety and shelter at emergency shelters, our policy remains that no media are given access," the County of Maui said in a statement.

The county added that it welcomes "Oprah to continue to uplift our community’s spirit" and that it would like to "give her aloha to victims of the tragic disaster and appreciate her understanding of our policy of no camera crews or reporters in our emergency shelters. Mahalo."

Later on, the county made a point to note that while Winfrey's camera crew was not let inside, she very much was. 

Oddly, Winfrey was reportedly interviewed by BBC while she was inside the shelter. It is not known why BBC was let inside whereas Winfrew's group was not. 

Winfrey notably possesses around 1,000 acres of land in Maui. Her asset portfolio includes hundreds of acres of land in the Kula area, which is located southeast of Lahaina, a town that massively suffered from the fires. 

This blocking of Winfrey's cameraman comes after she was previously seen in a shelter giving out supplies to some of the catastrophic fire's survivors. The disaster has taken at least 93 recorded lives thus far.  

Harrowing video of the flames has spread throughout social media. 

Aerial clips have shown large amounts of devastation in Maui:

Maui Police Chief John Pelletier said that the fire was so powerful it "melted metal," and that the damage was so large that responding officials were struggling to identify the bodies of the deceased.

Pelletier described instances of officials picking up human remains only for them to immediately "fall apart."

Gov. Josh Green (D) said that this event marks "the worst natural disaster that Hawaii ever faced," and that a minimum of 2,200 buildings in West Maui suffered either damage or outright destruction, with 86 percent of the constructions being residential. The damage is estimated to be around $6 billion. 

"We can only wait and support those who are living," stated Green. "Our focus now is to reunite people when we can and get them housing and get them healthcare, and then turn to rebuilding."

Green noted that there are still more people to be found who have not yet been accounted for.