The Pasadena Unified School District will keep all of its schools closed this week because of the Eaton fire that has burned through large sections of Altadena and Pasadena, and that has brought high school sports in the district to a halt indefinitely.

Muir and Pasadena high schools were set to begin Pacific League play last week, but after the Eaton fire broke out Tuesday evening Jan. 7, games were either canceled or postponed at both schools through the end of that week.

Muir athletic director Alredo Resendiz said a ban on sports at Muir and Pasadena high schools will continue this week. The schools are waiting for updates from the PUSD to figure out what happens next.

Schools are monitoring air quality to make sure it is safe for outdoor and indoor athletic activities, and they are tracking the living conditions for the students after many families lost their homes.

The Pacific League athletic directors and administrators met Monday night and discussed contingency plans. Arcadia, Burbank, Glendale, Hoover, Crescenta Valley and Burroughs will resume league action this week. There are schedules in place that include Muir and Pasadena for games next week if students are allowed return to school.

“We just don’t know what is going to happen,” Resendiz said. “We’re all hopeful we can return to school and the kids can play because many of them are just staring at walls, wherever they’re living at the moment. They’re seeing other kids starting to play again and I know they would like to be distracted by returning to their teams, and to school to be with friends again.

“But we all get it, right? Whether you lost your home or not, everyone is dealing with something. Even for those who still have their homes, they have issues with water and other things that won’t go back to normal for a while. Everyone is out here supporting each other, but I feel like sports would be good for these kids. When it’s safe, when they say we can go, it’s something they need.”

Resendiz said there is a chance that at Muir and Pasadena, all sports will be canceled for the remainder of the winter season. The winter sports include boys and girls basketball, boys and girls soccer, boys and girls wrestling and girls water polo.

“There is a little bit of optimism that we will be able to play,” Resendiz said. “But it is possible we may have to waive the entire winter season. Most of us think we might be able to do some sort of remote learning if we don’t return to school, which would allow our athletes to play. But it’s hour-to-hour and day-to-day. We’re waiting, supporting each other and hoping we have a way forward soon.”

At Monday’s Pacific League meeting, the schools decided there would be no league basketball tournaments at the end of the regular season. The Pacific League was set to have all teams play each other once, instead of the normal two rounds of home-and-away contests, and have a league tournament at the end of the regular season to decide playoff spots. But Pacific League teams will need the extra week for make-up games, so they decided to cancel the boys and girls tournaments.

Arcadia athletic director Milica Protic, who was the AD at Muir prior to going to Arcadia, said she is working with Arcadia to start a sports clothes and equipment drive for those impacted by the fires.

A firm date has not been set, but it will likely be Saturday, when Arcadia hosts an all-day basketball showcase of games.

“Whatever we can do, we want to help and will work together to make it happen,” Protic said.

LA SALLE GIRLS BASKETBALL POSTPONES LEAGUE OPENER

The La Salle girls basketball team was hopeful it could play Bishop Montgomery in its Del Rey League home opener on Tuesday night, but the contest was canceled because of unhealthy air quality.

“We worked on finding an alternate venue out this way to play (Tuesday night), but we couldn’t get something done,” La Salle girls basketball coach Scott Wiard said. “We’re planning on rescheduling any games that we have missed, and resuming our game against St. Mary’s that was postponed (when the fire broke out Jan. 7).

La Salle’s next scheduled game is Thursday at St. Monica.

“We’re not in school this week, but we found a nearby gym that we were able to practice in Monday and get back into it,” Wiard said. “We’ve been in contact with St. Monica and we’re all set. Then we’ll work on our schedule and go from there.”

LA CANADA MISses GAMES

La Canada boys basketball coach Tom Hofman said he is hopeful the school’s students can return to school Thursday. He is waiting for direction from the La Canada Unified School District.

If students don’t return to school Thursday, Hofman said that Jan. 21 would likely be the day they return.

“With school out, we can’t even practice at school,” Hofman said. “We came over to St. Francis to practice. They’re not back in school yet, but they allowed their students to use their gym and have been generous allowing us to practice here.”

La Canada missed Rio Hondo League games against San Marino and South Pasadena last week. The team had to postpone this week’s games against Monrovia and Blair.

“We’ll eventually make them all up,” Hofman said.