TORONTO — As the California wildfires ravaged Altadena, Malibu, Pacific Palisades and his hometown of Pasadena, Nick Robertson’s attention was understandably yanked away from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I got this, dealing with this, and then I look at my phone and there’s fires and you’re wondering where your family’s at. So, I just hope it stops soon,” Robertson explained Tuesday, ahead of another head-to-head matchup with big brother Jason and the Dallas Stars.
“You hear fires in California, I mean, I’ve seen fires before … but this one, this magnitude, is crazy.”
The Robertson brothers were born and raised in the hills of Southern California, right near the deadly fires. Father Hugh and mother Mercedes — who will be in attendance for Tuesday’s Stars-Maple Leafs game — now also have a home in Dallas.
Younger sister Brianne still lives in the family’s California home, and older sister Alex was forced to evacuate from her place.
The blazes near Pasadena are now reportedly 95 per cent contained, but the family home was in danger and the Robertson brothers, who return to California for a couple weeks every summer, know people who were more severely affected.
“It’s gonna be a long time before everything is back to normal,” Jason said.
When news of the devastation spread, Nick rushed to call his parents and check in on his sisters, worried about their safety.
“Thankfully, the fire literally just went right around where we were live, right around our house, thankfully. So, thank you to the firefighters there. Obviously, it’s not a very good situation, but thankfully my family’s safe and the house is good,” Nick said.
“Fortunately, our family has not been affected by it too bad. I mean, obviously there’s debris, and it’s still not good to go home — but not at the point where the house has gone down.
“It’s a terrible situation. Just praying for it to end, and for the families affected by it.”
Jason’s mind still drifts to home, but he has “no choice but continue to play.”
He watched the L.A. Rams defeat the Minnesota Vikings Monday night in the NFL wild card.
“I thought that was pretty inspiring, what they’re doing and how they’re still competing. It’s definitely nice to have that escape,” Jason said.
“But when reality checks in and you see the destruction … it’s hard to think about.”
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