Oprah Winfrey spotted helping evacuees at Hawaii wildfire shelter

The TV host was seen wandering through a shelter on the devastated Hawaiian island handing out pillows and chatting to victims. Photos / Getty Images and Instagram

American talk show host Oprah Winfrey was spotted helping the Maui wildfire evacuees on Thursday.

The star was seen handing out items at a makeshift shelter as devastating blazes continue to engulf the Hawaiian island.

It has been reported that at least 55 people have been confirmed dead as fires rage through Maui and the historic beach town of Lahaina. As many as 1000 people are unaccounted for.

Winfrey, 69, was seen giving out supplies and chatting with residents at Wailuku’s War Memorial Stadium, which has been converted into a shelter and resource centre, according to Hawaii News Now.

Clips, which have been shared on Hawaiian rights group Kākoʻo Haleakalā's Instagram page, show Winfrey wearing a straw hat and holding pillows.

“It’s a little overwhelming,” Winfrey revealed to the BBC in a brief clip.

Oprah Winfrey chatted with all the locals. Photo / Instagram

“But I’m really so pleased to have so many people supporting and people are just bringing what they can and doing what they can,” according to the New York Post.

Winfrey told the outlet that she had made two trips to the shelter. The first visit was to find out what was actually needed.

“Often you make donations of clothes or whatever and it’s not what people need”, she said.

After the initial trip, the media mogul went shopping to major US franchise stores Walmart and Costco and bought pillows, sheets, shampoo and nappies.

In one picture, Winfrey - who is one of Maui’s biggest private landowners - was captured sitting by a camp bed and chatting with residents who had lost their homes to the devastating fires and were forced to evacuate earlier this week.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Hawaii News Now (@hawaiinewsnow)

Winfrey has lived on the island part-time for the last 15 years.

On top of her 486 hectare holdings across Hana and close to Mount Haleakala — quite far away from the raging fires — Winfrey also recently just bought 352 hectares of land for $10.16 million (NZ$17 million) in Kula, which is situated between south Maui and the ongoing up-country blazes.

The fires broke out on Tuesday, August 8 across Maui and Big Island and it prompted an evacuation of both tourists and residents. Hundreds of homes have been lost leaving many more people displaced.