All 12 Los Angeles professional sports teams are uniting to donate $450,000 to help those affected by the wildfires in Maui. The Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers, Angels, Rams, Chargers, Sparks, Galaxy, LAFC, Kings, Anaheim Ducks and the Angel City Football Club have all come together to support the American Red Cross relief efforts for those in need.
The wildfires that have swept through Maui are a tragedy unlike anything ever experienced by the island. At the time of writing, the death toll has eclipsed 110 people with at least 1,000 more missing as much of the burn zone still must be searched through.
Southern California has long had a connection with the state of Hawaii with a massive Hawaiian community being present and many teams contributing to that connection throughout the years. Notably, the Lakers held training camp in Hawaii for more than 25 years and have played numerous preseason games in Honolulu. In fact, the Showtime reunion in 2022 took place in Maui.
Also in 2022, the Dodgers opened a baseball and softball training academy in Waipahu while the Angels previously had a Triple-A affiliate in Honolulu for several seasons in which many future major leaguers passed through. The L.A. Galaxy have also held preseason training camps in Hawaii and competed in the Pan-Pacific Championship in 2008 while the Chargers have made the state home for several preseason games over the years.
The search throughout Hawaii is expected to continue on for days with some fires still going on, though they are mostly contained. The 2,170 acre Lahaina fire, the most destructive of all, was 89% contained as of Wednesday night while the 1,081 acre Olinda fire is 85% contained.
The cause of the fires still has yet to be determined, but Hawaiian Electric, Maui’s major power company, is facing scrutiny for its response and failing to shut off power lines once winds got high and created dangerous fire conditions.
President Joe Biden and the First Lady Dr. Jill Biden are expected to visit Maui on Monday.
Any fans interested in donating to the American Red Cross and helping to support the Hawaii fire relief efforts can find more details at www.redcross.org.
Dane Johnson named head coach of South Bay Lakers
In other Lakers news, the organization recently announced that Dane Johnson will be taking over as head coach of the G League South Bay Lakers after Miles Simon’s departure.
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