“We are still in shock”
Football star’s house goes up in flames
01/10/2025 – 9:58 a.mReading time: 2 minutes
The fires in Los Angeles are affecting hundreds of thousands of people. Including well-known people such as the Mexican Carlos Vela.
The devastating wildfires in Los Angeles have affected numerous homes and families. Among those affected is Mexican soccer star Carlos Vela, whose property in Malibu fell victim to the flames. His wife Saioa Cañibano announced this on Instagram.
In a moving post, she shared a video of the burning house and wrote: “Our beautiful house in Malibu burned down yesterday. We are still in shock from everything that happened. It’s incredibly sad and frightening how everything is burning.” Despite the tragedy, she assured that the family was doing well and thanked them for their support during this difficult time.
The fires that have raged since Tuesday forced more than 180,000 people to evacuate and destroyed more than 10,000 buildings in the region. Firefighters continue to battle the flames, which have caused significant human and material losses.
Carlos Vela is a 72-time national player for Mexico and is best known to European football fans from his time at Arsenal FC and Real Sociedad San Sebastián. In 2018 he moved to Los Angeles FC and quickly became one of the biggest stars in the MLS, winning the MLS Cup among other things and cementing his status as an icon of the club.
NBA star coach Steve Kerr’s parents’ house in Los Angeles was also destroyed by flames. “My mother is in good hands, but our house is lost,” said the head coach of the Golden State Warriors on Thursday (local time): “The city looks like it has been wiped out. It is surreal and devastating.”
Kerr was born in Lebanon because his father worked there as a Middle East specialist, but he spent his youth in LA in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood worst hit by the current fires.
“This is my hometown. Almost all of my friends have lost their houses,” said the 59-year-old: “Family houses, parents’ houses, high schools are gone.” It is “shocking” and looks “apocalyptic”; “90 to 95 percent of the houses in Palisades” have burned down.