Oprah Winfrey opened her private road in Maui to help amid a tsunami evacuation as waves hit the U.S. West Coast and Hawaii following a massive 8.8-magnitude earthquake off Russia's coast.

The billionaire media mogul opened a road on her property, giving people a route to evacuate from coastal areas to higher ground, Hawaii officials said.

Oprah Winfrey’s rep is shutting down rumors. A spokesperson for the philanthropist, 71, denied accusations that she kept the private road that runs through her estate in Maui closed as locals tried to escape following a Hawaii tsunami warning.