California wildfires destroy Duquesne football player’s family home

The Duquesne football team is rallying around one of its own after his family lost everything in the California wildfires.

Adrian Ramirez is back on campus for the spring semester, but his mind is 2,500 miles away, passing time until the next phone call from his mom.

“Every time she calls me, I can hear it in her voice,” he told Channel 11. “I can hear she stopped crying because she’s talking to me.”

The reality of the wildfires hit Adrian the night he flew from Los Angeles back to Pittsburgh after the holiday break. While flying overhead, he saw the fires barreling toward his Pasadena neighborhood.

“I had to talk to a random person, a random lady that was right next to me,” he said. “I had to speak to someone because my head was going insane, so I had to talk to someone. I told her ‘I literally live right there. I don’t know what to do right now.’”

The time it took Adrian to fly coast to coast was all it took for the fires to reach and destroy his family home. He later learned his father ran back inside as the flames spread out of desperation to save just a few treasured possessions.

“He didn’t even grab anything for him. He grabbed stuff for my family, my mom, my sister, my brother. I just thank God that he’s still alive because, in the video, you can see there’s so much fire. I didn’t want to think that way.”

Fortunately, Adrian’s family is safe but just beginning to recover. It’s a journey Adrian faces a long way from home.

He tells Channel 11 that the support of his team has lightened that heavy load.

“They’ve been nothing but the best to me. I love this team.”

Adrian plans to go home for spring break where he’ll help his dad and his brother rebuild their home.

Until then, he moves forward fueled by a promise from his brother that the family will be at Duquesne’s season opener against Pitt this fall.

“That’s all I needed to get back on my feet,” he said. “I love them, and I just can’t wait to see them.”

Click here for a fundraiser set up to hep the Ramirez family rebuild.

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