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 staff and mascots 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’ training complex in Tempe.
The Rams considered staying another night, but Tony Pastoors, the Rams’ vice president 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 during the first half of a game against the Arizona Cardinals on December 28, 2024, in Inglewood, California. (AP Photo/Ryan Sun)
Several wildfires, including the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, have devastated communities in the Los Angeles area, including Pacific Palisades and Altadena. The fires burned nearly 30,000 acres during a wind event in Santa Ana, with at least 130,000 people in the area under evacuation orders.
At least five people have died 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, Arizona, on January 5, 2025. (Matt Kartozian/Image 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 Monday at 8 pm ET.
The Rams had a scheduled off day on Wednesday. He Los Angeles Chargerswho share SoFi Stadium and are heading to Houston for a wild-card game on Saturday, limited players’ time outdoors during practice due to poor air quality.
State Farm Stadium has played a similar role in the past. During the COVID season in 2020, the 49ers played three “home” games there. Before that, the Miami Dolphins and San Diego Chargers played in Tempe, Arizona, at Sun Devil Stadium on October 27, 2003, due to wildfires in San Diego.
