Actor Jason Momoa has advised tourists not to go to Maui as the island faces major challenges in recovering from devastating fires, the BBC reports.

The actor from the Hawaiian Islands, the hero of the movie “Aquaman”, wrote on Instagram: “Maui is not the place to take a vacation right now.”

“Don’t travel,” he said. “Don’t convince yourself that your presence is necessary on an island that is suffering so much.”

More than 90 people have been confirmed dead in the fires that have destroyed cities, including the historic town of Lahaina.

Jason Momoa shared several messages saying that Hawaiians “need time to heal, mourn and rebuild.”

“This means that the fewer visitors to the island occupy critical resources that have become extremely scarce, the better,” he said.

Check out this Instagram post

The post was shared by ʻĀina Momona | Moloka’i (@ainamomona)

Tourists were sunbathing, and local residents continued to search for victims

The 44-year-old actor’s comments came as Maui residents expressed concern at the sight of tourists sunbathing while locals were still counting the dead.

“The water in which our people just died three days ago is the same water in which these visitors – tourists – were swimming the next day,” a local resident told the BBC.

“It says a lot about where their hearts and minds were during all of this and where our hearts and minds are now.”

She said no Hawaiian would “swim, snorkel, surf” under such tragic circumstances.

“No one revels in tragedy and continues to live as if nothing happened,” she said.

“Now there are two Hawaiis. The Hawaii we live in and the Hawaii they live in.”

Local authorities asked people on non-essential trips to leave and others to cancel travel plans to Maui.

Tourism accounts for about 80% of all income received on the island

However, stopping tourism would cause a significant shock to Hawaii’s economy. It was the largest source of private capital in 2019, with 10.4 million visitors spending a total of $18 billion, according to the Hawaii Tourism Authority. Maui, the largest island, collected a third of that money.

Meanwhile, the Maui Economic Development Board says the importance of tourism is even greater, estimating that it represents, directly or indirectly, approximately 80% of all revenue generated on the island.

The fires, which started on Tuesday, were fueled by dry summer air and high winds from a hurricane that swept through the area. They are now largely under control, although efforts to completely extinguish them are ongoing in some parts of the island.

These were the most destructive wildfires seen in the United States since the Camp Fire in California in 2018, which killed at least 85 people. (News.ro)

READ ALSO:

• VIDEO. ‘It’s apocalyptic’: Maui residents jump into ocean to escape wildfires
• VIDEO In Hawaii due to catastrophic forest fires, at least 36 people died / New shocking footage of the scale of the disaster
• VIDEO Catastrophic Hawaii wildfires: Death toll rises to 55, but hundreds missing / How the fire started, likely the worst natural disaster in the state’s history
• VIDEO Fires on Maui, the biggest disaster in the history of Hawaii: at least 80 people died, 1000 houses burned
• Hawaii has underestimated the deadly danger of wildfires, reports in recent years show