Thousands of residents in and around Los Angeles have felt the wrath of the California wildfires this week. This includes Los Angeles Kings broadcaster Patrick O’Neal, who shared his story on the pregame coverage of Friday’s matchup between the Kings and the Winnipeg Jets.
Patrick O’Neal, who has spent 20 seasons with the Kings serving in a multitude of roles, including hosting the Kings’ pre and postgame show LA Kings Live on FanDuel Sports Network West, shared images of himself standing by his burned-down family home while he offered prayers to the other victims of the fires.
“Hi Kings fans, Patrick O’Neal here,” said O’Neal on LA Kings Live. “I want to send our prayers to the many who have suffered tremendous loss caused by these fires in Los Angeles County. Thousands have lost their homes. Our family has been impacted as well as we have lost our family home in Malibu. I want to thank everyone for their support. Thankfully, our family is safe, the dogs too. However, many around the Southland continue to suffer.
“I would like to take the opportunity to encourage you if you have the means to donate to any number of working causes that will help those in need around Los Angeles. Please visit LAKings.com/community/fire-relief. These donations will be split between several organizations that are helping those in need. I thank you so much for your support. And together we will help L.A. come back stronger. Go Kings go!”
WE 🤍 YOU @Patrick_ONeal
🔗https://t.co/x0hEUYSviC @LAKings l #GoKingsGo pic.twitter.com/3unXl7sUxZ
— FanDuel Sports Network West (@FanDuelSN_West) January 11, 2025
The images of O’Neal standing where his house once was, which was shown on the pregame broadcast, just puts into perspective the kind of devastation that the fires have truly had.
Luckily as O’Neal detailed, his family was not physically harmed by the fires. But others have not been so lucky, as there have been 11 deaths according to a report from The Washington Post as of Friday night.
Hockey is obviously the last thing on the minds of those in and around Los Angeles at this time. But hopefully, those who were able to tune into the pregame show were able to get some enjoyment and relief from O’Neal’s prayers on the matter.
