Homes bordering the Pacific Ocean are burned to the ground in the aftermath of the Palisades Fire in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)
January 09, 2025 - 6:04 PM
DETROIT (AP) — Steve Kerr’s 90-year-old mother is among thousands who have lost their homes as fierce wildfires rage in the Los Angeles area.
“My mom is in good hands, but her house is gone,” Golden State's coach said Thursday night before the Warriors played the Detroit Pistons. “I’ve been on the phone with my siblings quite a bit.”
Kerr said his mother, Ann, left her home in Pacific Palisades after the evacuation orders earlier in the week.
“That’s my hometown,” he said. "All my friends who are from there pretty much all lost their homes — their family homes, their childhood homes. Our high school is gone. The town looks like it’s just been completely wiped out. It’s surreal and devastating.
"Fortunately, almost everyone escaped. But it’s hard to even fathom how Pacific Palisades rebuilds and how it becomes a thriving community again. It’s just shocking.”
Pacific Palisades borders Malibu about 20 miles (32 kilometers) west of downtown Los Angeles. It includes hillside streets of tightly packed homes along winding roads nestled against the Santa Monica Mountains and stretches down to beaches along the Pacific Ocean.
Fast-moving flames are burning through homes and businesses as nearly 180,000 residents flee smoke-filled canyons in picturesque neighborhoods that are home to many celebrities.
Many of the towering fires began Tuesday and burned uncontained Thursday, fueled by powerful Santa Ana winds.
At least five people are dead and thousands of structures have been damaged or destroyed.
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