The NBA postponed the Los Angeles Lakers’ home game against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday as several massive wildfires burned in the greater Los Angeles area.
This is the second day in a row that a match scheduled to be played in downtown Los Angeles has been postponed. Hockey’s Los Angeles Kings were scheduled to host the Calgary Flames on Wednesday night.
The date of the postponed matches will be announced at a later date. The Kings said tickets for their postponed game against Calgary will be good for the rescheduled date.
Three large fires burned in areas of the vast city of Los Angeles after two days of unusual winds. A major threat erupted on Wednesday evening in the Hollywood Hills area near the heart of the entertainment industry, but was contained by Thursday morning.
Nearly 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, and the fires have scorched about 45 square miles (117 square kilometers) — roughly the size of the city of San Francisco. The Palisades Fire is already the most destructive in Los Angeles history.
The playoff game between the Vikings and Rams is still scheduled for Monday
The Los Angeles Rams sent a statement to season ticket holders and fans Thursday morning confirming that Monday night’s NFC round-robin postseason game against the Minnesota Vikings will still be played as scheduled Monday night at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
The NFL said Wednesday evening that if the game had to be moved, it would be played at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, home of the Arizona Cardinals.
In 2003, the league moved a Monday night regular-season game between the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Arizona, due to wildfires.
Both the Rams and Los Angeles Chargers are practicing in non-fire threat areas, but both teams are monitoring air quality and its potential impact on their practices.
The Chargers changed their practice schedule Wednesday to limit their players’ time outdoors in the coastal El Segundo area. The Chargers will leave after practice on Thursday for Houston and their AFC wildcard matchup against the Texans on Saturday.
Coach Jim Harbaugh trained the Chargers’ offensive and defensive units separately to limit their time on the field. The air quality at the team’s complex was 185 on Wednesday. Anything above 150 is considered unhealthy.
The Rams held their first practice on Thursday. Their headquarters is in Woodland Hills, a neighborhood about 13 miles north of fire-ravaged Pacific Palisades but separated by the Santa Monica Mountains.
Watch out-of-control wildfires surround Los Angeles:
Multiple wildfires have surrounded the Los Angeles County area, destroying dozens of buildings and forcing tens of thousands to flee their homes. Firefighting crews are also facing strong winds and dwindling water supplies.
Los Angeles Clippers star Kawhi Leonard abruptly left the team before their game against Denver on Wednesday, due to what the team described as personal reasons. Leonard purchased a home in Pacific Palisades in 2021.
“You definitely have to take care of the house,” Clippers coach Tyronn Lue said. “You have my full support, 100 percent.” “Back, checking on his family and his kids, making sure they’re okay. And he’s back, and they’re okay, so happy and grateful for that.”
The Pepperdine women’s basketball team has also postponed its home game scheduled for Thursday night against the University of Portland at Firestone Fieldhouse on the school’s Malibu campus, the West Coast Conference announced. Pepperdine canceled classes Wednesday, and access to its coastal campus was restricted.
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