Oprah Winfrey’s spokesperson on Tuesday hit back at claims, including from local Maui residents, that she kept her private road on the island closed as people tried to drive upcountry to escape incoming tsunami waves triggered by a powerful 8.8-magnitude underseas earthquake off Russia’s Kamchatka Peninsula.

In a statement shared with Newsweek and People, the spokesperson said: “As soon as we heard the tsunami warnings, we contacted local law enforcement and FEMA to ensure the road was opened. Any reports otherwise are false.”

Oprah owns more than 2,000 acres of land on Maui, east of the coastal city of Wailea and on the western side of a dormant volcano called Haleakalā, according to Newsweek.

Following the earthquake, tsunami warnings were issued for all islands in Hawaii at about 2

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