Lakers coach JJ Redick emotionally recounts losing home to wildfires: ‘It is complete devastation’
Los Angeles Lakers head coach JJ Redick was one of many people to lose their homes to the wildfires currently raging around Los Angeles.
A day after the NBA postponed the Lakers’ game scheduled for Thursday, Redick spoke with reporters and took them through the experience of losing the house where his family had been living since he took his job last year, with video via reporter Mark Medina. The house was in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood, which was almost entirely razed by the fire.
Redick was away on a Lakers road trip when the fires first hit the Palisades, but his wife Chelsea got their nanny out of the house, found a hotel and pulled their children out of school. Redick returned to Los Angeles early Wednesday morning and opted to inspect the damage after a few hours of sleep
“I kinda had to see it for myself. I was not prepared for what I saw. It is complete devastation and destruction. I had to go a different way to the house, but 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. Our home is gone.
“Look, we were renting for the year to try to figure out where we wanted to be long term and everything that we owned, that was of any importance to us in almost 20 years together as a couple and 10 years of parenting was in that house. There are certain things you can’t replace, that will never be replaced, and it’s really weird s***. My son did an art project last year at Saint Ann’s in Brooklyn and it was like a charcoal pencil drawing of a lighthouse that we had framed above the stairs and you can’t ever replace stuff like that.”
Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr was among the others to be affected by the fire, as his childhood home was burned down. Redick noted a number of other Lakers staffers and their families also lived in the area.
The Palisades fire has expanded to over 20,000 acres and displaced thousands of people, with a handful of confirmed deaths. It is 8% contained, as of Friday afternoon.
Redick said he felt worst about the loss of the community his family found immediately in the Pacific Palisades:
“I got back to the hotel and of course my wife and I are emotional. I’m not sure I’ve wept or wailed like that in several years. [Chelsea] said to me, ‘I was very hesitant to move out here. I was very hesitant for you to go into coaching. I’ve never loved living somewhere more than I’ve loved Brooklyn and I’ve never loved a community more than the community I had in Brooklyn.’ And then, it’s like, we move out here, the Palisades community has really just been so good to us and that’s the part for us that we’re really struggling with, is just the loss of community.
“I recognize that 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.
He also pledged to help people who aren’t in a position to financially weather the wildfires, unlike his family:
“I don’t want people to feel sorry for me and my family. We’re going to be alright. There’s people, because of some political issues and some insurance issues, are not going to be alright, we’re going to do everything we can to help anybody who’s down and out because of this.”
The consequences of the wildfires are still coming in and could continue for the next few days, as the winds that caused them are expected to continue through the weekend. The Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers both have home games scheduled during the weekend and on Monday, which could require further action from the NBA.
