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UCLA women’s basketball team copes with uncertainty during fire threat

Related Topics: Cori Close, Gabriela Jaquez

By Anthony De Leon

Jan. 11, 2025 10:30 AM PT

Like many Angelenos, the UCLA women’s basketball team is dealing with the catastrophic toll of the massive wildfires this week — a firestorm inching perilously closer to home.

Just seven miles west of Pauley Pavilion, the Palisades fire rages, scorching everything in its path with the flames steadily advancing toward campus.

“I wish we weren’t having to go through it,” coach Cori Close said. “I’m devastated by some of the hurt that people are experiencing right now and the devastation to our city.