What We Know About Ongoing Los Angeles Wildfires; Spurs vs. Lakers Implications

Six wildfires have swept the greater Los Angeles area since Tuesday morning. Here's what you need to know about the situation, as well as how it impacts the San Antonio Spurs' upcoming two-game series with the Lakers.

Nov 27, 2024; San Antonio, Texas, USA; Los Angeles Lakers forward Anthony Davis (3) faces off against San Antonio Spurs center Victor Wembanyama (1) in the second half at Frost Bank Center. / Daniel Dunn-Imagn Images

SAN ANTONIO — Twenty-year veteran Chris Paul is a San Antonio Spur for the time being, but for him, home is in Los Angeles.

Paul spent six seasons with the LA Clippers after his initial stint in New Orleans with the then-Hornets and since then, has bounced around with several different squads.

The point guard made a brief return to California with the Golden State Warriors last season, but while he's suiting up for the Silver & Black this season, his family has remained settled in Los Angeles.

That was atop his list of concerns when the wildfires struck.

“It’s definitely scary, everything that is going on,” Paul said via the San Antonio Express-News. “I’m sending so much love and prayers to some of my closest friends and family who have lost everything.”

What We Know

Since Tuesday, six fires have swept the Los Angeles area.

The Palisades Fire was the first to erupt on Tuesday morning, and is now considered the most destructive in city history with damage spanning nearly 20,000 acres. That night, the Eaton and Hurst Fires began to burn and come Wednesday, the list grew to include the Lidia and Sunset Fires. Thursday evening, the Kenneth Fire added to the chaos to round out the group.

Only the Sunset Fire, which erupted in the Hollywood Hills, has been fully contained, though fire officials say that forward progress of the Kenneth Fire has been completely stopped.

Firefighters attempt to extinguish a fire in a home along the Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood on Jan. 8, 2025. / Sandy Hooper/USA TODAY NETWORK / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

Nearly 180,000 people were under evacuation orders due to the Palisades, Eaton, Hurst and Lidia Fires in Los Angeles County with another 200,000 under evacuation warnings. In Pasadena, those same numbers are 100,000 and 100,000, respectively.

“As of last night, we’ve had national guardsmen assisting us," Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Friday morning. "They arrived last night, and they were deployed to the Eaton Fire area and were assisting with road closures and critical infrastructure protection.”

In total, the damage is expected to be in the tens of billions of dollars range. Over 5,000 structures, including homes, commercial buildings and vehicles have been destroyed in the Palisades Fire and another four to five thousand are expected to be lost to the Eaton Fire. At least 10 casualties have been reported by the Los Angeles County medical examiner's office.

So far, at least five of the blazes have burned an area the size of Miami, two and a half times larger than Manhattan and larger than both San Francisco and Boston.

As of Saturday, the Lidia Fire has been completely contained, and the Kenneth Fire joined that list on Sunday. Fire officials are investigating the cause of the latter as potential arson.

For the other three blazes, the level of containment is as follows (Updated 1/15/25 at 10 p.m.)

Fire	Percent Contained	Acres Burned
Palisades	21	23,713
Eaton	45	14,117
Hurst	98	799

“The Palisades Fire continues to exhibit wind-driven and topographic runs upslope. Short-range spotting is still observed,” Cal Fire said in a bulletin. “On Saturday, typical mid-January conditions are expected. Sunday and continuing through the middle of next week, weak to moderate Santa Ana winds are expected. There is a chance of strong winds Tuesday.

"There will continue to be a high likelihood of critical fire weather conditions through next week.”

What Has Been Affected?

Because of the wildfire damage and threat of imminent danger, several major sporting events have already been postponed or are under close watch.

The NBA announced Thursday morning that the Los Angeles Lakers' scheduled home game against the Charlotte Hornets Thursday night had been postponed until further notice — following suit of the NHL, which did the same for the Los Angeles Kings' bout with the Calgary Flames Wednesday.

We're with you, LA 💜 pic.twitter.com/PoROo4ycd9

— Los Angeles Lakers (@Lakers) January 9, 2025

The NFL joined the fold as well, relocating Monday night's NFC wild-card game between the Minnesota Vikings and Los Angeles Rams from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles to State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Ariz. Kickoff is still scheduled for 7 p.m. CST.

READ MORE: Every Sporting Event Impacted By LA Wildfires

Additionally, at least 13 local high schools and school districts have canceled all sporting events, and according to Warriors coach Steve Kerr, Palisades High School (later known as Palisades Charter High School) was destroyed along with his childhood home, still occupied by his 90-year-old mother.

“It’s been tough," Kerr said of the damage prior to a game against the Detroit Pistons Thursday. "My family is fine, my mom is in good hands, but her house is gone ... our whole high school’s gone. The town looks like it’s just been completely wiped out … It’s hard to even fathom how Pacific Palisades rebuilds and how it becomes a thriving community again. It’s just shocking.”

"That’s my hometown," he added. "All my friends who are from there (have) pretty much all lost their homes. Their family homes, childhood homes."

Kerr wasn't the only one in the NBA's coaching circle to be affected, however. Lakers skipper J.J. Redick revealed that his rental home in Los Angeles was among the destruction caused by the Palisades Fire, and provided an update on his family who he says have safely left the city.

"Our family, my wife's family, my wife's twin sister, they've evacuated," Redick said Wednesday. "I know a lot of people are freaking out right now, including my family. I know a lot of people are scared. I just want to acknowledge that.

"Thoughts and prayers for sure, and hope everybody stays safe."

What Is Still Undecided?

As of now, the Spurs' two-game series with the Lakers is moving forward as planned. No new date has been released for the Lakers' game against the Hornets postponed from Thursday, but depending on the verdict for the their next two home games, a slew of possibilities exist.

Crypto.com Arena sits between the Eaton and Palisades Fires, so relocation depending on the continued spread of either blaze is possible — though there has not been a released contingency plan beyond postponement, which stands as a strong possibility.

“The entire NBA family sends its thoughts and support to the community of Los Angeles during this challenging time,” the league said in statement. “We are grateful for the thousands of local firefighters and first responders who have demonstrated enormous bravery."

READ MORE: Kawhi Leonard Steps Away from Clippers Amid Wildfires

The Lakers have four straight home games beginning Saturday that run through next Friday, while the Clippers have three straight at Intuit Dome before flying to Portland, Ore. on Thursday, Jan. 16. As of late Wednesday night, the Spurs have been in LA monitoring the situation and preparing to play.

Whether they will or won't remains to be seen.

“Obviously our thoughts and prayers are for everybody and everything going on," Spurs acting coach Mitch Johnson said. “It’s a devastating situation. I know our people at the league, city officials and everything are in communication, so I’m sure they’ll tell us something.

"At this time, our prayers are for all those people out there. That they’re safe.”

This story will be continuously updated with accurate containment data.