Jason Momoa is delivering a stern message to tourists who plan to visit Maui during the deadliest wildfire in modern U.S. history.
The Hawaii-native, who has been using social media to help with rescue and fundraising efforts, posted his warning on Instagram Aug. 11.
“Maui is not the place to have your vacation right now,” the 44-year-old actor wrote. “DO NOT TRAVEL TO MAUI.”
He continued, “Do not convince yourself that your presence is needed on an island that is suffering this deeply.”
He thanked everyone who has been sending donations and love to the community as it is being devastated by raging fires.
The “Aquaman” star has been frequently sharing photos and videos of the impact, particularly in the historic town of Lahaina.
“Although seen as Maui’s Waikīkī, Lāhaina has rich cultural significance stemming back all the way to traditional times,” he captioned a post also uploaded Aug. 11 that explained the town’s important history.
Momoa wrote, “It looks like a bomb was dropped right on the town. I can’t believe this happened and I’m praying that everyone that’s unaccounted for gets reunited with their ʻohana. This is probably the worst disaster that I’ve lived through so far.”
He asked for fans to honor the memories of Lahaina while the town is hopefully rebuilt and restored.
NBC’s Miguel Almaguer said on TODAY Aug. 10 that approximately 300 homes, businesses and landmarks in Lahaina have been burned to the ground.
According to BBC News, Momoa also shared a video saying that the Hawaiian community “needs time to heal, grieve and restore.”
“That means the less visitors on the island taking up critical resources that have become extremely limited the better,” he explained.
Dwayne Johnson spoke out about the tragedy, too.
“Heartbroken but our faith and mana is strong,” he wrote on Instagram on Aug. 13. “First responders, health care teams, hotels, locals businesses, boots on the ground…
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