Cardinals send team planes to evacuate Rams’ players, families and pets from wildfires: report
The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly embarking on a mission to rescue their division rivals from the California wildfires.
The franchise is sending two of its team planes to Los Angeles to evacuate LA Rams players, their families, team staffers and pets and fly them to Arizona, according to ESPN.
Six dogs and two cats will join the human passengers.
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The Cardinals are also offering their home field, State Farm Stadium, to the Rams for their playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings as fires continue to ravage Southern California. The Rams will also be using the Cardinals’ training complex in Tempe.
The Rams considered staying another night, but Tony Pastoors, the Rams’ VP of football & business administration, said “hope is not a strategy,” according to the team.
The NFL announced Thursday that the game will be moved to Arizona.
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Several wildfires, including the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, have devastated communities in the Los Angeles area, including Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The fires have burned nearly 30,000 acres during a Santa Ana wind event, with at least 130,000 people in the area under evacuation orders.
At least five people have been killed in the fires, and more than 1,000 buildings have been destroyed.
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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, the participating clubs and the NFLPA.”
The game kicks off at 8 p.m. ET Monday.
The Rams had a scheduled day off Wednesday. The Los Angeles Chargers, who share SoFi Stadium and head to Houston for a wild-card game Saturday, limited players’ time outside during practice due to poor air quality.
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State Farm Stadium has played a similar role in the past. During the COVID season in 2020, the 49ers played three “home” games there. Prior to that, the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers played in Tempe, Arizona, at Sun Devil Stadium Oct. 27, 2003, due to wildfires in San Diego.
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