Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick is one of the thousands of people in Los Angeles whose homes did not survive the wildfires that swept through the area this week.
Reddick was in Dallas for the game when he learned of the fire and that his family had been evacuated.
In an interview with the media on Friday, a day after the Lakers' game at Crypto.com Arena was postponed, he spoke about his experience returning to the Palisades and what he saw there.
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Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick watches the first half of the game against the Cleveland Cavaliers at Crypto.com Arena. (Gary A. Vasquez/Imagn Images)
“It's okay. My wife came out really early. In fact, she was on the other side and went outside and saw the fire and was with some other people and headed to the airport. …I took the kids out of school. “We sent them off. They're fine. All that matters is they're safe,” he said.
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“I went to the hotel, got up at 7 o'clock and drove to the Palisades. I had to see it with my own eyes. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. Complete devastation and destruction. All the way home. I had to take a different route, and I walked around most of the village, but everything was gone. I don't think you can prepare for something like that.”
Firefighters battle the Kenneth Fire in the West Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles on Thursday, January 9, 2025. (Ethan Swope/Associated Press)
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Reddick's home was destroyed Thursday.
“We had been renting for a year to find a long-term place to live, but everything that was important to us – the things we had spent nearly 20 years with and raised our children for 10 years – was in that house. “I did it,” said an emotional person. Reddick said. “There are things that cannot be replaced. They can never be replaced.
“It's all about material things. My family and I are still processing aspects of ourselves, personal aspects of losing our home. I wouldn't wish that on anyone. It feels terrible to lose…I may not have cried or cried this much in years.
A plane helps fight a fire over the Pacific Palisades on Thursday, January 9, 2025. (Sandy Hooper/Imagun)
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Monday night's NFL playoff game between the Vikings and Rams was postponed from Inglewood to Arizona due to a fire that has claimed at least 10 lives, destroyed more than 10,000 buildings and burned nearly 30,000 acres. Changed.
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