Every single professional sports team in California has been impacted by the wild fires that burnt throughout the state over the past couple weeks.
From the northern part of the state to down south, these wild fires are the deadliest in the history of California. As of Wednesday evening, 86 people had died with north of 500 missing.
The Oakland Raiders are now doing their part to help those impacted — donating $250,000 for wild fire relief to help those impacted in Butte County.
“The Paradise Camp Fire struck very close to home for me,” Raiders owner Mark Davis said in a statement. “While living in Chico, we would drive up to Paradise at least twice a month to eat at a restaurant owned by the Allen family called Basque Norte.”
Indeed. Pretty much everyone in the state has been impacted by the worst natural disaster in the history of California.
Davis’ comments about the destroyed town of Paradise are more sobering than anything else. He talks about the town in the past tense.
“Paradise was truly God’s Country. I’m thankful to be in a position to help at this time of need,” Davis continued. “My thanks go out to all the first responders who risked their lives helping to save others. But most of all my heart goes out to all of those who lost their homes and loved ones.”
Raiders players also spent this week putting together care packages for those most impacted by the fires.
Davis himself has received a lot of flack for his decision to move the Raiders from Oakland to Las Vegas. This doesn’t mean that the California community plays second-fiddle within the organization.
Their show of altruism during the holidays represents this to a T.