Eric Musselman explains how USC is handling Los Angeles fires

The city of Los Angeles has been devastated by fires that have been raging since January 7th. At this point, it seems as though everyone in the city has been impacted in some way by them, including Eric Musselman and the USC Trojans.

Right now, USC has been away from home, making a road trip where the Trojans upset Illinois. It would always be a meaningful win but it’s even more important now that the fires have become so devastating.

“Look, the stuff that’s going on in LA has affected us,” Eric Musselman said. “We have three staff members that their families have been evacuated. My wife, although it’s not in Manhattan Beach, but the first night, she’s calling me at two in the morning and four in the morning because she’s nervous about it. So, it’s affected everybody for sure. I think our guys are looking forward to getting back.”

A dry climate and strong winds have initially made the fire difficult to contain for the Los Angeles Fire Department. It began in the historic Pacific Palisades neighborhood and spread from there. Now, there are four separate major fires that have reportedly killed 16 people and consumed at least 38,000 acres of land as they continue to rage.

“One of our local players, his family is very concerned because it’s getting closer to to where they live. Coach [Will] Conroy‘s 24-hour lookout on his phone with local news, so this has affected everybody. We talked last night that when we step in this building that it’s our job to focus on the game. Look, it’s hard, like we played this game at 9 a.m. our time, and we got them up at 7:30 or whatever local time, which is 5:30 in the morning our time. So, we’re moving in the right direction.”

USC was coming off a pair of Big Ten losses before the Illinois game and dealing with several injuries. So, getting a win against Illinois was not just a surprise, it was a much-needed game for USC.

Now, after finishing up their road trip, USC is now returning home to Los Angeles where they’ll face further difficulties amid the fires.

“From all indications are that the airports open. We got to de-ice here, and then we get back home,” Musselman said. “And then we just have to figure out what our practice time is going to look like and some stuff that we’ll just talk with administration. But right now with USC, it’s business as usual, and just prayers and thoughts with everybody that’s been affected, which is obviously a lot of people.”

USC will play its next game on Tuesday, January 14th at home against Iowa. The hope is that by then the fires will be under more control and less of a threat to the city.