Written by Rory Carroll
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – Lakers coach JJ Redick was emotional on Friday as he described the loss of his family home in Pacific Palisades to a ferocious wildfire that reduced much of the Los Angeles community to ashes.
Reddick's wife and two sons were away from the home when it burned Tuesday, and he said he was distraught when he witnessed the aftermath of the fire early Wednesday morning.
“I was not prepared for what I saw. It was complete devastation and devastation,” he told reporters after the training.
“I've been through most of the village and it's all gone. I don't think you can prepare yourself for something like this.”
Redick, who played 15 seasons in the NBA, moved to Los Angeles from Brooklyn after being hired to be the Lakers' head coach last season.
He was renting the house while he and his wife determined where they wanted to live long-term, and said they felt a deep connection to the community and pledged to help them rebuild.
“Everything we owned that was meaningful to us after 20 years together as a couple and 10 years of parenting was in that house. There are certain things you can't replace,” he said.
“But the material things no matter what…the Palisades community has been so good to us. The part we're really struggling with is the loss of community.”
“I realize that people make up the community and we are going to rebuild and we want to help with that. But all the churches, schools and library are gone.”
Los Angeles County was devastated this week by two large fires fueled by strong winds and dry conditions.
Authorities said it had killed at least 11 people as of Friday and destroyed or severely damaged more than 10,000 buildings, making it among the worst natural disasters in California history.
“I don't want people to feel sorry for me or my family,” Reddick said.
“We'll be OK. There are some people who won't be OK because of some political issues, some insurance issues. We'll do everything we can to help anyone who's affected by this.”
After the Lakers' home match against the Charlotte Hornets on Thursday was postponed due to fires, the NBA announced late on Friday that it had also postponed the Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers matches that were scheduled for Saturday.
