She didn’t start the fire: Maui blames electric utility for blazes, not Oprah

"Oprah started the fire," declared a recent Instagram post that delved into a conspiracy theory that Oprah Winfrey, among others, is responsible for the recent wildfires on Maui, Hawaii.

The claim was attached to a video that said Oprah and others, including Hawaii’s governor, want to buy Maui’s now-devastated landscape and turn the area into a "smart city." 

We’ve previously debunked a claim about whether the governor said he wants to seize land to turn Lahaina, a historic city on the island, into a so-called smart city, and about Winfrey, who reportedly owns property on Maui and was accused of painting a home there blue to protect it from directed energy lasers supposedly starting the fires. 

We found no evidence that she started the fires there. 

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A team of U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives investigators was recently dispatched to Maui to determine the fire’s origin and cause.

Featured Fact-check

Facebook posts

stated on September 27, 2024 in a video

Shows video of damage from Hurricane Helene.

Maui County, meanwhile, has accused Hawaiian Electric, an electric utility on the island, of causing the fire. Hawaiian Electric has said its power lines were responsible for one of two fires in Lahaina, but that the historic town was ravaged by a different fire, Reuters reported.

Investigations continue. But we’ve seen no credible news stories or other sources blaming Winfrey for starting the fires. 

We rate that claim False.