The Arizona Cardinals are reportedly on a mission to save their division rivals from the wildfires in California.
The franchise is sending two of its team planes to Los Angeles to evacuate LA Rams players, their families, team employees 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 a 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 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 use the Cardinals’ practice complex in Tempe.
The Rams considered staying one more night, but Tony Pastoors, the Rams’ VP of football and 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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Los Angeles Rams head coach Sean McVay reacts after a defensive stop in the first half of a game against the Arizona Cardinals on Dec. 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. 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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State Farm Stadium before a 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, the participating clubs and the NFLPA.”
The game starts at 8:00 PM ET on Monday.
The Rams had a scheduled day off Wednesday. The Los Angeles Chargerswho share SoFi Stadium and travel to Houston to play a wild-card game Saturday, limited players’ time outside during practice because of poor air quality.
State Farm Stadium has played a similar role in the past. During the 2020 COVID season, 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 on October 27, 2003 due to the San Diego wildfires.
