Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford wore a Los Angeles Fire Department hoodie as he arrived at the team's playoff game against the Minnesota Vikings on Monday night.
The final game of wild card weekend was moved from SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to Glendale, Arizona, due to the fires still raging in Los Angeles.
A growing force of firefighters continued to battle massive infernos across the city on Monday as more powerful winds approached and threatened recent gains against wildfires that have destroyed thousands of homes and killed at least 24 people.
Planes doused homes and hillsides with bright pink fire-retardant chemicals, crews prepared to hit hotspots across the region, and dozens of tankers arrived to replenish supplies after hydrants ran dry last week.
In less than a week, four fires around America's second-largest city have burned more than 62 square miles, about three times the size of Manhattan.
The decision was made last week to move Monday night's final wild card game to Arizona and promises to be an emotional evening for the LA Rams and their fans.
Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford wore a Los Angeles City Fire Department hoodie on Monday.
A growing force of firefighters continued to battle massive infernos across Los Angeles.
Rams receiver Cooper Kupp and his teammates also wore “LAFD” T-shirts to warm up.
Stafford paid a heartfelt tribute to the firefighters working to combat fires while wearing one of their hoodies upon his arrival at State Farm Stadium.
It has been a troubled few days for Stafford and his family.
The former Super Bowl winnerwho shares 7-year-old twins Sawyer and Chandler, Hunter, 6, and Tyler, 4, with his wife Kelly.revealed that she and her daughters had to be hospitalized.
The mother of four shared a photo on her Instagram Story showing two of her daughters lying in a hospital bed.
“Last night was long,” he wrote alongside the photo. 'Back in bed and sleeping, everyone except Hunter. It feels like I've drunk a degree Celsius.
“Though before that,” she later noted in a follow-up post, “they were all smiles accompanying Dad on his work trip.”
While the former college cheerleader did not share more details about her daughters' hospitalization, she did suggest that the need for medical attention was due to an illness the family had been suffering from for the past week.
'I found our happy place in AZ. I promise we are happy, just still (sick),' Kelly said in another post, shared on Sunday afternoon.
Thousands of Rams fans were seen lining up Monday to head to Glendale, Arizona.
The Rams chartered buses so fans could get to the game, and the number is believed to be at least 40.
Sean McVay's team headed to the desert on Friday night and used its division rival's practice facility all weekend.
The Cardinals opened their training facility in Tempe for the Rams' use, and there was a large banner reading “Welcome Los Angeles Rams” with both teams' logos on the front door.
Cardinals owner Michael Bidwill even sent two team planes to Los Angeles on Friday to help the team travel to Arizona. Rams players were allowed to bring their families, and even some pets, for the trip.
Los Angeles still hopes to have a sizable home-field advantage for Monday's game, even if it's about 375 miles and a six-hour drive from SoFi Stadium.
The team's season ticket holders bought 25,000 tickets in the first hour of availability on Friday and They were lining up before dawn on Monday to make the bus trip.
A line of fans could be seen surrounding the stadium before 5:30 a.m. local time.
And once fans got on the buses, they even received gifts, as shown in an X post from Allen sales fan He showed a towel and a foam finger on his seat.
Los Angeles won nine straight games in Arizona before the streak was broken earlier this season.
McVay said Los Angeles requested the visiting locker room on Monday, even though they are still technically the home team, because of their familiarity with the space.
Four fires have consumed more than 62 square miles in Los Angeles' most affluent neighborhoods, with homes and A-list celebrity restaurants among the 12,300 structures leveled.
Firefighting helicopter drops water as Palisades fire grows
Only a few Rams employees had been directly affected by the fires until Thursday afternoon, when the Kenneth Fire broke out a few miles from the team's training complex in suburban Woodland Hills, sending smoke skyward. at an alarming speed.
Defensive lineman Kobie Turner said receiver Puka Nucua's home was in an evacuation warning zone, so he came and slept at his house one night.
The National Weather Service warned of “particularly dangerous” dry and windy weather, especially on Tuesday, when wind gusts could reach 105 km/h, according to experts.
Much of Southern California around Los Angeles is under this extreme fire danger warning through Wednesday, including densely populated Thousand Oaks, Northridge and Simi Valley.
Firefighters made progress over the weekend on the region's two largest fires: the Eaton Fire near Pasadena and the Palisades Fire in a wealthy enclave along the Pacific Coast.
The Eaton Fire is about one-third contained, while the Palisades Fire is much less contained.
The death toll is likely to rise, Los Angeles County Sheriff Robert Luna said Monday. At least two dozen are missing, he said.