National Basketball Association

'The days are getting harder': Lakers resume play while dealing with devastation for LA wildfires

Published Jan. 16, 2025 3:16 p.m. ET

LeBron James has lived in Los Angeles for seven years. This is the second time he has been evacuated because of a fire.

Back in 2019, his family was evacuated at around 1:30 a.m. from their Brentwood home because of the Getty fire. He grabbed a credit card and his passport and went to three hotels that were at capacity before finding one available.

Six years later, James and his family were evacuated again last Thursday because of the Palisades fire, which erupted two days earlier and has burned over 23,000 acres. As of Wednesday evening, it was only 21 percent contained.

"Obviously, there's been a lot of emotions," James said after the Lakers beat the Miami Heat on Wednesday, 117-108. "I have a couple of dear friends that have lost their homes in the Palisades. Obviously, my heart goes out to all of the families, all across not only the Palisades, but all across LA county and all the surrounding areas because of the fire and things of that nature.

"It's been a lot of emotions. ...Personally, I've been off. Personally, my family, we've been evacuated since Thursday night, so I've been in a hotel since pretty much when we got back from Dallas. So, just figuring it out. But staying strong for one another. Obviously, that's most important."

Of course, among James' friends who have lost their homes is Lakers coach JJ Redick. It has been over a week since his one-year rental in the Pacific Palisades burned down. At first, he was in shock, overcome with the emotions of losing his family's belongings.

Now, he has to deal with the aftermath of that tragedy.

"I'd say the days are getting harder, to be honest with you," Redick said, explaining that at first he was in "fight or flight mode," focused on making sure his family was safe and had a roof over their heads.

"Then you realize after a few days that it's a logistical nightmare," he said. "… I'm sure you guys are well aware of this, but the price gouging happening right now and people looking for homes. We're still at the hotel. We don't have a place to stay as of next week. Working through that."

For most people in Los Angeles, the last week has been terrifying. For some, it has been heartbreaking. Instead of the Lakers serving as a distraction from this disaster, they're an example of what many people in the city are going through, albeit they have many more resources than most to handle it.

The death toll from the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire is at least 25. More than 30 people are missing. Over 200,000 people have been evacuated. More than 12,000 structures have been destroyed.

I'm from Los Angeles and went to Crossroads School in Santa Monica before graduating from Palisades Charter High, which caught fire last week. My Facebook timeline has been a heartbreaking slideshow of tragedy over the last week.

Two of my close friends lost their childhood homes. One former classmate posted about how her father, who has Alzheimer's disease, lost his home in the Palisades fire and is in a very tough spot because he can't relocate far from that area because his brain care is nearby. Another former classmate posted about how she just took in her mother, who lost everything.

Within the Lakers organization, a videographer named Rohan Ali was reeling after his parents lost their home in Altadena in the Eaton fire. A gofundme was started to help them rebuild. As of Wednesday evening, over $84,000 was raised, including a $20,000 donation from Anthony Davis.

The air has been toxic. There's ash everywhere. Nowhere has felt safe, especially with wind gusts reaching 60 miles per hour in some areas Wednesday and widespread red flag warnings.

And the nightmare seemingly isn't ending.

Another red flag warning might return next week, according to the weather service, threatening to breathe new life into any smoldering flames. And even though the air quality has seemingly improved, apparently AQI doesn't account for asbestos or lead or other toxic substances in the air.

It's dizzying. Entire communities have been destroyed. About 1,600 policies in the Pacific Palisades were dropped by State Farm in July. Businesses have burned down. The devastation to wildlife and the city's surrounding nature is heart-wrenching. So many people are left picking up the pieces.

When the fires first broke out, the NBA canceled two Lakers and Clippers games. But their seasons resumed Monday, providing a bit of normalcy for Angelenos looking for an escape from it all.

Outside of Crypto.com Arena, the Lakers are collecting food and toiletry donations for fire victims. And Los Angeles' 12 professional sports teams have banded together to provide an $8 million donation for fire victims and first responders.

And amid the Lakers season starting back up, we received a brief reminder Wednesday of how sports can bring joy.

Cameras caught a young girl sitting courtside clutching her mouth and crying after James waved at her in the first quarter. One of James' family friends sent him the video of her reaction, which was going viral on social media. James saw it at halftime.

"To have that type of connection with someone, where they can have that type of reaction, I think that's what it's all about," James said.

After the game ended, he went up to the girl, gifted her one of his I Promise wristbands and posed for photos with her.

"I think it will be something that hopefully she will never forget," he said.

It was a sweet moment of pure happiness amid a week filled with so much fear, sadness and heartbreak for so many.

Melissa Rohlin is an NBA writer for FOX Sports. She previously covered the league for Sports Illustrated, the Los Angeles Times, the Bay Area News Group and the San Antonio Express-News. Follow her on Twitter @melissarohlin.

FOLLOW Follow your favorites to personalize your FOX Sports experience