"Heartbroken" Dwayne Johnson Sends Love to "Local Heroes" Amid Maui Wildfires Recovery Efforts

Dwayne Johnson is sharing his gratitude to first responders in Hawaii. 

As the deadly wildfires in Maui continue, the Black Adam star—who is of Pacific Islander heritage and lived on the island of Oahu as a teenager—took a moment to express his heartache over the disaster as well as his thanks for those who have lent their support.

"Heartbroken but our faith and mana is strong," Dwayne captioned an August 13 Instagram post. "First responders, health care teams, hotels, locals businesses, boots on the ground organizations and all our local heroes, stay strong - we love you and appreciate you."

"All our local families, our ohana, our aiga, stay strong thru this devastating time," he continued. "Resilience resolve is our DNA. Our ancestors are in our blood. This is who we are. This is what we do. I love you. Stay strong."

Wildfires first broke out on the island on August 8, destroying the historic town of Lahaina. A confirmed 96 people have died in what is being considered the deadliest fire in modern U.S. history, while thousands have been left homeless.

In his post, the 51-year-old shared a video in which he says is is "completely heartbroken" over the "complete destruction and devastation that has hit the island of Maui," alongside images of first responders in Hawaii. He thanked those around the world for the support and shared he has been in communication with relief organizations on the ground in Hawaii, promising his followers to keep sharing information as well as resources for people to help. 

As of Aug. 10, there were six fires blazing on Maui and the Big Island that burned across 2,000 acres, according to Hawaii Emergency Management. Days later, on Aug 14, a spokesperson for Hawaii's Department of Defense told Today that search and response efforts are ramping up and Maui will soon be heading into recovery phase, which will "be the longest phase yet."

The Moana actor is not the only celebrity with connections to Hawaii to have spoken out amid the devastation.

Aquaman's Jason Momoa, who was born in Honolulu, wrote on Instagram August 10, "We are devastated and heartbroken for our friends and ‘ohana on Maui who been impacted by the recent wildfires. Many other places on Maui were also affected. We continue to send pule (prayers) to this incredible community." He also shared links for donations to relief efforts. 

Oprah Winfrey, who owns property on the Hawaiian island, went to Maui to aid first responders. The media mogul helped distribute supplies at the War Memorial Stadium where many displaced residents have been sheltering in the island's town of Wailuku. 

"It's a little overwhelming, you know," she told the BBC on Aug. 10 of being on the ground in Maui. "But I'm really so pleased to have so many people, you know, supporting and you know, people are just bringing what they can and doing what they can."

The 69-year-old even went to Walmart and Costco to buy supplies such as "pillows, shampoo, diapers, sheets, pillowcases" to distribute. 

"Mahalo Nui @oprah for following through!" Local nonprofit Kāko'o Haleakalā wrote on Instagram alongside a video of Oprah at the distribution center. "She returned with cots, pillows, and toiletries for the people in the shelter at in Wailuku. She even spent some time with the people there. It was very much appreciated."

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