By Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Lakers head coach JJ Redick got emotional on Friday while describing losing his family’s home in the Pacific Palisades to a ferocious wildfire that turned much of the Los Angeles community to ash.
Redick’s wife and two sons were away from the home when it burned down on Tuesday and he said he was stunned when he witnessed the aftermath of the blaze early Wednesday morning.
“I was not prepared for what I saw. It’s complete devastation and destruction,” he told reporters after practice.
“I went through most of the village and it’s all gone. I don’t think you can ever prepare yourself for something like that.”
Redick, who played 15 seasons in the NBA, moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn after he was hired to be the Lakers head coach last offseason.
He was renting the home while he and his wife determined where they wanted to live long term and said they felt a deep connection to the community and vowed to help them rebuild.
“Everything we own that was of any importance to us after 20 years together as a couple and 10 years of parenting was in that house. There are certain things that you can’t replace,” he said.
“But the material stuff is whatever… the Palisades community has been so good to us. The part that we’re really struggling with is the loss of community.
“I recognize people make up community and we’re going to rebuild and we want to help lead on that. But all the churches, the schools, the library, it’s all gone.”
Los Angeles County this week has been devastated by two major wildfires that have been fueled by strong winds and dry conditions.
They have killed at least 10 people as of Friday morning and destroyed or badly damaged more than 10,000 structures, authorities said, making them among the worst natural disasters in California history.
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me and my family,” Redick said.
“We’re going to be alright. There are some people because of some political issues, some insurance issues, that are not going to be alright. We’re going do everything we can to help anyone who is down and out because of this.”
The Lakers postponed Thursday night’s home game against the Charlotte Hornets due to the fire and for now, the team is still scheduled to host the San Antonio Spurs Saturday night at Crypto.com Arena in downtown Los Angeles.
(Reporting by Rory Carroll in Los Angeles; Editing by Shri Navaratnam)
