The National Football League playoffs began their long-awaited run, giving America a much-needed distraction from the unprecedented devastation caused by the California wildfires.

The Los Angeles Chargers visited the Houston Texans and the Pittsburgh Steelers traveled to Baltimore to open the wild-card round. Normally, a festive occasion for sports fans, this post-season, and all sporting activity is tempered by the impact of the wildfires, ravaging the greater Los Angeles area. Fueled by the Santa Ana winds, the fires have burned nearly 40,000 acres with at least 100,000 people under evacuation orders.  At least 16 people have died and more than 10,000 structures destroyed.

While the NFL began its post-season, the NBA postponed two games at Los Angeles on Saturday: the Lakers against the San Antonio Spurs and the Clippers hosting the Charlotte Hornets. The postponement comes after a Lakers game against the Hornets on Thursday was postponed due to the wildfires that claimed the rental home of Los Angeles Lakers coach J.J. Reddick.

Mr. Reddick was in Texas for a game Tuesday night when his wife evacuated the home at Pacific Palisades. When they returned on Wednesday. The home was leveled. “I wasn’t prepared for what I saw,” Mr. Reddick told reporters. “It’s complete devastation and destruction.”

The fire consumed “everything we owned that was of any importance to us,” Mr. Reddick added. “Almost 20 years together as a couple, 10 years of parenting was in that house.”

A multitude of sporting events and teams were impacted. In addition to the Lakers games, the NHL’s Los Angeles Kings postponed their game against the Calgary Flames. Pepperdine postponed its women’s basketball games, and Santa Anita Park rescheduled its racing program. Workers are wearing protective masks and eyewear to combat the smoke.

Dealing with the aftermath of the catastrophe has just begun. “There’s certain things you can’t replace,” Mr. Reddick said. “It’s an awful feeling to lose your home.”

The Arizona Cardinals sent two airplanes to Los Angeles to evacuate the Los Angeles Rams and their families and pets to Arizona on Friday. By the end of the day, the NFL moved Monday night’s Wild-Card matchup between the Rams and the Minnesota Vikings, originally scheduled for SoFi Stadium in Inglewood to Glendale, Arizona.

The NFL, which announced a $5 million donation to relief efforts, said it moved the Rams-Vikings game “in the interest of public safety.”

Rams could see smoke from the facility at Woodland Hills on Thursday.  Now they must somehow prepare for a playoff game amidst one of the largest natural disasters in California’s history. “A couple of our staff members did have their homes affected,” Rams head Coach Sean McVay told reporters. “But fortunately to my knowledge, nobody has been injured and you know for that we’re grateful.”

Kawhi Leonard, a star for the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA, left the team on Wednesday to be with his family, which was forced to evacuate due to the wildfire.  Mr. Leonard had recently returned from a knee injury.

Meanwhile, Golden State Warriors head coach Steve Kerr lost his childhood home in Pacific Palisades, where his 90-year-old mother had to evacuate. “The town looks like it’s been completely wiped out,” Mr. Kerr said.