The NFL has a contingency plan.
Monday night’s playoff matchup between the Rams and Vikings cannot be played in Southern California due to the area’s devastating wildfires, and the game will be moved to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz., the NFL said.
The game, which the Rams were scheduled to host at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., will still happen Monday at the home of the Arizona Cardinals.
“The decision was made in consultation with public officials, the participating clubs and the NFLPA,” the NFL said in a statement.
The NFL’s acknowledgment came as three major fires caused widespread destruction in Los Angeles, where, as of Thursday afternoon, officials had confirmed five deaths and issued evacuation orders for at least 180,000 people.
Much of the devastation occurred in the Pacific Palisades, a neighborhood about 20 miles west of downtown Los Angeles and about 20 miles northwest of Inglewood.
“You feel helpless watching it from here and know how many people are being impacted,” said Vikings head coach Kevin O’Connell, who was the Rams’ offensive coordinator from 2020-21.
“Definitely, Southern California, I hold near and dear to my heart, and I have some friends that have lost homes. You just think of the impact it has on so many folks. Our prayers are with all of those impacted and definitely with the brave first responders that are putting their lives on the line.”
On Thursday, the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Charlotte Hornets at Crypto.com Arena in downtown L.A. was postponed.
Both the Lakers and the Los Angeles Clippers, who play at the Intuit Dome in Inglewood, are next scheduled to host home games on Saturday. Earlier in the week, Lakers head coach J.J. Redick said his family was among those to evacuate the Palisades.
“Praying for everyone in Southern California!” Lakers star LeBron James wrote Wednesday on X.
Wednesday’s game between the Los Angeles Kings and Calgary Flames at Crypto.com Arena was also postponed.
Extreme winds and drought conditions fueled the blazes during a season in which wildfires are atypical.
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr said his 90-year-old mother is OK but that his childhood home in the Palisades burned down. He visited the house two weeks ago.
“That’s my hometown,” Kerr said Thursday. “All of my friends who are from there, pretty much they’ve lost their homes, their family homes, childhood homes. Our old high school’s gone. The town looks like it’s just been completely wiped out. It’s surreal and devastating.”
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. The Chargers are the No. 5 seed in the AFC and will begin the playoffs with a road game in Houston on Saturday.
On Wednesday, the Chargers had their offensive and defensive units practice separately at their facility in nearby El Segundo, Calif., which allowed players to spend less time on the field amid the area’s poor air quality.
“We’re trying to keep everybody safe and healthy as much as possible and also at the same time get our preparation done for the game,” defensive coordinator Jesse Minter said.
SoFi Stadium, meanwhile, has a roof but is not a fully enclosed dome, as it features openings along its sides.
Jets quarterback Aaron Rodgers was among the thousands of people to experience a power outage, according to ESPN’s Pat McAfee, who said Rodgers canceled a scheduled appearance Wednesday on his afternoon talk show.
“He’s in the middle of it,” McAfee said. “He said he has friends and neighbors that have lost everything in these fires.”
