More than 100 Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) workers are staying in five-star hotels in Maui on the taxpayers’ dime while thousands of people are homeless due to the wildfires, according to a report.
James Franey of the Daily Mail broke the news that government bureaucrats are staying at luxurious hotels frequented by Hollywood’s elite — with FEMA officials reportedly budgeted $1,000 a night for each worker. The three high-end hotels are the Fairmont Kea Lani, Four Seasons, and the Grand Wailea Astoria which are all located a “45-minute drive away from the fire-ravaged town of Lahaina,” according to the outlet.
Franey writes:
The Grand Wailea, where Adam Sandler, Jennifer Aniston and Nicole Kidman filmed their romantic comedy, Just Go With It, has 776 rooms that start at 640 square feet.
The hotel is set on 40 acres of tropical gardens and sits right on one of Maui’s most beautiful beaches, Wailea Beach.
And there are FEMA 100 [sic] officials staying at the four-star Marriott Wailea Beach Resort for $531 per night, a company insider said, but where rooms currently on offer to the general public start at $749.
Kaleo, who works for the local government and requested his surname be anonymous for fear of losing his job, called the move to put government officials up in expensive hotels selfish as survivors are left sheltering inside churches.
“Shouldn’t they stay closer to the site, instead of staying across on the other side of the island?” he suggested to the Daily Mail.
WATCH — “Gut-Wrenching”: Burned-Out Cars Line Streets as Residents Survey the Ruins of Lahaina, Hawaii
Meanwhile, the Biden Administration has approved $7 million in emergency funds to assist those displaced by the wildfires to stay in hotels or condos. But according to the Daily Mail, local residents say the federal agency is not allowing volunteer organizations to pass out supplies, allowing only FEMA-approved supplies to be sent to victims.
The current death toll from the wildfires is 115, with estimates of over 800 people still missing.
WATCH: K9 Units Assist in Search for Survivors in Lahaina Following Wildfires
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