Connie Britton Shows Support for Maui Amid Deadly Wildfires: “Your Loss Is All of Our Loss”
White Lotus star Connie Britton is showing support for the island of Maui amid a wave of deadly wildfires, which has resulted in more than 55 deaths.
“Maui. My heart is broken. Your loss is all of our loss,” the actress posted on Instagram on Thursday. “Your generous island and shores held us so lovingly when we shot @thewhitelotus during COVID in 2020. And now we send massive love and strength for recovery during this unbearable time.”
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“You will always be a brilliant gleaming gem with a gorgeous heart and unbreakable spirit. #Maui,” she ended her post, which featured photos of her and cast members Steve Zahn, Molly Shannon, Murray Bartlett, Sydney Sweeney, Lukas Gage and others during filming.
The wildfires, fueled by powerful winds created by Hurricane Dora and preexisting dry conditions on the Hawaiian island, began on Tuesday night before sweeping across the island. Beyond hurricane damage, the fires have ravaged the historic town of Lahaina and spread to other parts of the island, like Kula. Over 11,000 people were reported as being without power on Friday.
President Biden declared the situation a “major disaster” on Thursday, with Maui County Fire Chief Bradford Ventura confirming the same day that 80 percent of the wildfire that damaged Lahaina had been contained, but that not one of the four major fires that began on Tuesday are fully contained, according to The Washington Post.
Emmy-winning HBO series The White Lotus, created by Mike White, filmed its first season on the second-largest Hawaiian island at the Four Seasons Resort Maui at Waileai during the fall of 2020. The resort had largely been deserted with limited staffing amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
“We had a lot of local crew, we had some people from the mainland, it was a mix,” White told Hawaii Public Radio. “I think everybody wanted to work, but they also wanted to feel safe. So we had a lot of protocols. Everyone was tested every day, they weren’t able to leave the resort — the bubble of it.”
He added that, while filming, he was “more humbled by the history of the islands, and it’s a relationship that I am still a novice. But I feel like I’m going to hopefully have a lifetime relationship with the islands.”
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the first season’s red carpet premiere, season one star Zahn shared that the cast, crew and hotel staff got unusually close due to the filming conditions. “We got so tight because we didn’t go away, you didn’t go to your house, you’re not staying in different places,” he said. “The crew stayed there, the extras; we knew the extras, first time in my life we actually got to know people.”
After a recorded 55 deaths as of Friday morning, the Washington Post reported that Maui County Police Chief John Pelletier expected the death toll to continue to rise, and he urged the island’s residents to avoid returning to Lahaina until the deceased wildfire victims have been recovered. Maui County Mayor Richard T. Bissen Jr. also told the Today show that many of the victims recovered have been found outside, with emergency responders and rescue teams having yet to check indoors.
Hawaii Governor Josh Green connected the fire to larger environmental shifts, saying in part during a recent press conference, “Climate change is here, and it’s affecting the islands.”
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