© Sergio Estrada | 2018 Nov 10
In a bizarre scene, smoke from the raging Northern California wildfire known as the “Camp Fire” could be seen inside the Golden 1 Center during the Los Angeles Lakers vs. Sacramento Kings game on Saturday night.
The smoke inside the arena had been visible since shootaround on Saturday morning. According to ESPN, the haze in the arena’s upper bowl is atypical and not something that occurred when wildfires blazed through Northern California last season.
After the game, LeBron James said the the smoke “affected me a lot.”
“I had a slight headache before the game,” James told ESPN. “And I can’t pinpoint any other reason why it was going on besides the smoke. But it went away after the game started. Hopefully I’ll be able to get some good rest tonight.”
Lakers center JaVale McGee, who suffers from asthma, also said he felt discomfort.
“My stomach was hurtin’ like I was hungry or something, but it was from the smoke for sure, so … but we still won, though, so it’s all good,” he said.
The fire began raging on Thursday, and has already claimed 23 lives, while also decimating the town of Paradise in Butte County.