Cardinals send team planes to evacuate Rams players, families and pets from wildfires: report
The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly embarking on a mission to save their division rivals from California wildfires.
The franchise is sending two of its team planes to Los Angeles for evacuation LA Rams players, their families, team staff and pets and fly them to Arizona, according to ESPN.
Six dogs and two cats will join the human passengers.
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SoFi Stadium during the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the Los Angeles Rams on January 3, 2021 in Inglewood, California. (Kevin Reece/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Cardinals also offer their home field, State Farm Stadium, to the Rams for their playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings as wildfires continue to ravage Southern California. The Rams will also use the Cardinals’ practice facility in Tempe.
The Rams considered staying one more night, but Tony Pastoors, the Rams’ vice president of football and business administration, said “hope is not a strategy,” according to team.
The NFL announced Thursday that the game will be moved to Arizona.
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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay reacts after a defensive stop during the first half of the game against the Arizona Cardinals on December 28, 2024 in Inglewood, California. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Several wildfires, including the Palisades Fire and the Eaton Fire, have devastated communities in the Los Angeles area, including Pacific Palisades and Altadena. Fires have burned nearly 30,000 acres during the Santa Ana winds, with at least 130,000 people in the area under evacuation orders.
The fires killed at least five people and destroyed more than 1,000 buildings.
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State Farm Stadium before the game between the Arizona Cardinals and the San Francisco 49ers in Glendale, Ariz., on Jan. 5, 2025. (Matt Kartozian/Imagn Images)
The Rams-Vikings game was moved “in the interest of public safety,” the NFL said in a statement. “The decision was made in consultation with public officials, participating clubs and the NFLPA.”
The game begins on Monday at 8:00 PM ET.
The Rams had an off day on Wednesday. The Los Angeles Chargerswho share SoFi Stadium and travel to Houston on Saturday for a wild-card game, have limited players’ time outside during practice because of poor air quality.
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State Farm Stadium has played a similar role in the past. During the 2020 COVID season, the 49ers played three “home” games there. Previously, the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers played in Tempe, Arizona at Sun Devil Stadium on October 27, 2003 due to the San Diego wildfires.
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