EL SEGUNDO, Calif., Oct. 24 (UPI) -- The Southern California wildfires forced the Los Angeles Lakers and Utah Jazz to cancel an exhibition game that had been scheduled for Thursday in San Diego.

The game had been set for San Diego’s iPayOne Center, but was called off because of wildfires in San Diego County -- which have forced the evacuation of about 1 million people in Southern California. At least five people have died and thousands of houses have been destroyed in the fires.

Lakers Vice President of Business Operations Tim Harris said the amount of devastation in the area, as well as uncertainty about what might happen in the next few days in the region, led to the decision to cancel the game.

The Lakers said they were donating $100,000 to the American Red Cross to help victims of the fires.