Lakers, LA Sports Teams Donate $450K in Relief Aid to Victims of Hawaii Wildfires

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The Los Angeles Lakers, Clippers, Dodgers, Angels, Rams, Chargers, Kings, Sparks, Angel City Football Club, LA Galaxy, LAFC and Anaheim Ducks have teamed up to donate a combined $450,000 to the American Red Cross to aid to the victims of the Hawaii wildfires.

The organizations released a joint statement:

Per that release:

“The Lakers held training camps in Hawaii for more than 25 years, have played multiple preseason games in Honolulu and had a Showtime reunion on Maui in 2022. The Rams played a preseason game in Hawaii in 2019. In 2022, the Dodgers opened a baseball and softball training academy in Waipahu. The Chargers have played multiple preseason games in Hawaii including in 1961 and 1976. During the LA Galaxy’s 2005 MLS Cup championship campaign, the club held a preseason training camp in Hawaii and competed in the Pan-Pacific Championship in Hawaii in 2008. For several seasons, the Angels had a Triple-A affiliate in Honolulu that produced several future Major Leaguers, including Angels Hall of Famer Bobby Knoop.”

The Maui wildfires have now killed at least 111 people, according to CNN’s Nouran Salahieh, Raja Razek and Holly Yan, and that number is expected to grow, with over 1,000 residents still unaccounted for on the island.

“No one has ever seen this that is alive today—not this size, not this number, not this volume,” Maui Police Chief John Pelletier told reporters Wednesday. “And we’re not done.”

The cause of the fires is still unknown. A number of fires are still ongoing, with the Lahaina fire 89 percent contained as of Wednesday night, the Olinda fire 85 percent contained and the Kula fire 80 percent contained.

A number of Hawaiian athletes or athletes with ties to the area have also joined the relief efforts.

Bellator fighter Ilima-Lei Macfarlane started a fundraiser that has raised over $2 million, according to Chuck Schilken of the Los Angeles Times. Hall of Fame basketball coach Don Nelson has opened up several of his rental properties to people who lost their homes. Golfer Collin Morikawa is donating $1,000 for every birdie he makes during the FedEx Cup Playoffs, while Michelle Wie West is donating $100,000.

And Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa has helped raise over $76,000 for victims through his Tua Foundation, per Schilken.