Seated at his locker, Reggie Jackson of the 76ers held multiple cell phones as he texted friends in Los Angeles an hour before Wednesday night’s 109-103 victory over the Washington Wizards. At that moment, their safety was the main thing on the reserve guard’s mind.
He was fully aware that at least five people died and many more were injured as several wildfires broke out across Southern California amid historic conditions created by extreme wind and drought.
“I’m reaching out to some people now,” Jackson said. “It’s scary, especially living out there, understanding the scale of it. The [dry] conditions are always set for it. It’s very unfortunate, but I’m just praying, praying for the city, for all of the [Southern California] cities that are affected right now. I’m praying for everybody, for their safety.”
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And he wasn’t alone on a team loaded with players with ties to Los Angeles and the surrounding areas.
Jackson played 3½ seasons for the Los Angeles Clippers before being traded to the Charlotte Hornets on Feb. 9, 2023. Before that, he lived in Southern California for six offseasons.
Sixers forward Paul George was born in Palmdale, Calif., an hour away from Los Angeles. He also spent the last five seasons as a face of the Clippers before joining the Sixers this summer.
Rookie Jared McCain was born in Sacramento, but his family moved before he entered high school and settled in Corona, which is about 45 minutes from L.A. And KJ Martin was born in nearby Gardena and played for the Clippers at the start of last season before being traded to the Sixers.
Eric Gordon was drafted by the Clippers in 2008 and had two stints with the team. Andre Drummond had a brief stint with the Lakers. And the Sixers drafted Adem Bona in the second round of June’s NBA draft out of UCLA.
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“I just talked to a couple of my teammates from school,” Bona said Wednesday before the game. “It happens a lot. But this time, it’s kind of devastating with the whole city of Pasadena kind of being burned down. It’s kind of sad to see something like that kind of take over almost the whole city. I saw photos of people flying over L.A. and looking down to a pretty bad [scene]. Everyone should just stay together, man. They’re going to get through that like they’ve always been getting through all disasters.”
Thousands of firefighters battled at least five major wildfires around the L.A. area, in addition to several smaller blazes. Thousands of structures have been damaged or destroyed, and at least 180,000 people are under evacuation orders, according to officials.
The fires left at least 373,472 customers without power Wednesday night in the L.A. area. Kathryn Barger, chair of the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, compared the fire situation to “a third-world country.”
“You know fires have been going on there for a long time,” Gordon said. “But this one is really drastic. It’s really spreading everywhere still right now. So I feel bad for all the people and families that are going to lose homes and almost start from scratch.”
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President Joe Biden canceled his trip to Italy amid the Los Angeles fires. He wants to “remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead.”
“Everyone just be careful,” Bona said. “And if your house is burning down, let it go, take care of yourself first. You just have to stay strong together, and we’re going to get through it together.”