The NFL is closely monitoring the devastating wildfires in Southern California, the league said Wednesday, five days before the Los Angeles Rams were scheduled to host a playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings.
The league “will remain in contact with both clubs and the NFLPA” ahead of Monday night’s NFC Wild-Card matchup at Sofi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., the NFL said in a statement.
That announcement came about an hour before Wednesday night’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. was postponed.
As of Wednesday afternoon, at least three major fires in the Los Angeles area had resulted in two confirmed deaths, destroyed more than 1,000 structures and prompted more than 70,000 evacuations, according to officials.
Many of those evacuations were in the Pacific Palisades area, where Los Angeles Lakers head coach J.J. Redick lives.
“My family and my wife’s family, my wife’s twin sister, they’ve evacuated,” Redick said Tuesday night before facing the Mavericks in Dallas. “I know that a lot of people are freaking out right now, including my family. … Thoughts and prayers for sure, and hope everybody stays safe.”
Inglewood is about 20 miles southeast of the Palisades. It is possible SoFi Stadium could host both the AFC and NFC Championship Games in two weeks, as the Los Angeles Chargers also call the 70,000-seat venue home.
“Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone affected by the fires,” Rams wide receiver Cooper Kupp wrote Wednesday on X. “Thank you to the firefighters, first responders, and everyone else doing their best in unfathomable circumstances.”
Exacerbating the blazes were extreme winds that caused the flames to spread quickly.
The fires caused power outages at more than 40,000 homes, authorities said. Among those to lose power was Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers, according to ESPN’s Pat McAfee, who said Rodgers canceled a scheduled appearance on his daytime talk show Wednesday due to the circumstances.
“He’s in the middle of it,” McAfee said. “He said he has friends and neighbors that have lost everything in these fires. Gone, just in a matter of one day worth of fires.”
The Lakers are scheduled to begin a five-game homestand on Thursday night at Crypto.com Arena. The Los Angeles Clippers, who play at the new Intuit Arena in Inglewood, are next scheduled to play at home on Saturday.
“Praying for everyone in Southern California!!!” Lakers star LeBron James wrote on X.