SANTA CLARA — Smoke from the Camp Fire in Northern California has affected the 49ers' practices, but currently, there are no plans to move Monday night's game against the New York Giants from Levi's Stadium.
49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said the team had to omit a few things from practice Friday as a result of the dwindling air quality. The team will continue to monitor conditions as it gets closer to the Monday night kickoff.
“Yes, it affected us because when we changed the practice time, we had to cut stuff out,” Shanahan said. “So, we cut about half of our walk-through out, a number of plays out.
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SIGN UP HERE “We were afraid the air quality was going to get worse as the day went, so we cut out some of our individual time, routes on air, things like that, and just tried to get to the plays. It didn’t change the schedule a ton but definitely made it a little different.”
Shanahan said Saturday’s practice proceeded as scheduled.
“Today was all right,” Shanahan said. “The air quality was still there, but it was actually a little better, from what I was told, than it was yesterday. We didn’t have to cut anything because Friday, a real football Friday, is usually a shorter practice anyway and starts earlier anyway.”
The last time an NFL game was moved came in 2003 when wildfires forced the then-San Diego Chargers to host the Miami Dolphins in Tempe at Arizona State’s Sun Devil Stadium.
Shanahan said no decisions have been made to alter Monday night’s game, but he realizes a move is possible.
“I know it’s a possibility because I definitely understand what’s going on,” Shanahan said. “As far as the game on Monday, I don’t know. We’re ready to play, and I don’t plan on things changing. If they do, it’s because it needs to. We’ll wait until someone tells us what we’re doing after, and we’ll be ready to do it.”
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Two other games could be affected by the Camp Fire, as well as multiple fires in Southern California. The Raiders are scheduled to host the Chargers in Oakland, and the Seattle Seahawks are visiting the Rams in Los Angeles.
The Rams cancelled practice Friday, and the Raiders' Friday practice was reduced to a walk-through because of the poor air quality.
"We are monitoring conditions in California and are in close communication with the clubs and local authorities," NFL spokesman Brian McCarthy said in a statement. "At this point, both the Los Angeles Chargers-Oakland Raiders game and the Seattle Seahawks-Los Angeles Rams game will kick off as scheduled."
Shanahan explained this is not just a logistical issue but a personal one as well. The team’s assistant strength and conditioning coach, Shane Wallen, saw his childhood home destroyed by the fire.
“Just hearing about it the last two days and last night,” Shanahan said, “when I got home, my wife showed me some of the videos that were going on.
“You know how bad it is, then you see it and it’s unbelievable. It’s affected a ton of people on our team, I know everyone through California. Obviously our prayers go out to all those people because that is probably the most important thing going on in our country right now, that we’ve got to get that fixed, because it’s scary and it’s a real deal. I know how many people it’s affected in this building, so I can’t imagine around the state.”
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