Fires force San Diego to change plans
The San Diego Chargers will uproot their practices to Arizona starting Wednesday as the wildfires ravaging Southern California forced about 40 of the team’s players, coaches and personnel, including star running back LaDainian Tomlinson, to evacuate their homes.
Citing the “poor air quality created by local wildfires,” a Chargers spokesman said the team would use the Arizona Cardinals’ practice facility in Tempe, Ariz., through Friday, and decide this week whether it would be able to play the Houston Texans as scheduled Sunday afternoon at San Diego’s Qualcomm Stadium. The stadium is being used as a fire evacuation center.
“It’s too soon to determine what’s going to happen with the game right now,” spokesman Bill Johnston said.
The Chargers canceled practice Monday. Several players reside in the northern San Diego County communities affected by the evacuations, and Tomlinson’s mother told the Canadian Press her son left his home by 5 a.m. Monday.
Other evacuated players who live in or near Poway and Rancho Bernardo include linebackers Shawne Merriman, Shaun Phillips and Matt Wilhelm, and safety Marlon McCree.
“There were some pretty long faces this morning,” Chargers center Nick Hardwick told the Canadian Press on Monday. “Normally, the worst-case scenario is when you miss a block or something, but if your house is burning down and you have to get your family out of the city, that’s a different issue.”
Johnston declined to identify which players were evacuated.
San Diego Padres reliever Trevor Hoffman also moved his family away from his Rancho Santa Fe home.
As another fire scorched the San Bernardino Mountains near Lake Arrowhead, boxer Shane Mosley of Pomona said he could “see the smoke” but was planning to remain in training at Big Bear City in advance of his Nov. 10 welterweight title fight against unbeaten Miguel Cotto in New York.
“As of now, I’m not going anywhere,” Mosley said.
In Los Angeles County, the CIF City Section suspended all outdoor activities Monday because of the wildfires, and officials said they will determine if football games will be played this week.
Times staff writer Eric Sondheimer contributed to this report.
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