Aaron Rodgers Press Conference: Tribute To Firefighters, People Affected After Packers Win

Green Bay Packers quarterback and California native Aaron Rodgers paid tribute to the firefighters battling the raging fires in North and South California, while also sending out support to the people of Paradise, in Butte County, who have been most severely affected.

Rodgers’ thoughts were completely back home after the Packers’ 31-12 win over the Miami Dolphins on Sunday night at Lambeau Field. The Chico native, who played at quarterback for Butte Community College and other California football teams, said all the thoughts of the players from the Golden State are with the people back home.

The fire that started Thursday has as of Sunday night grown to 111,000 acres and has now matched the deadliest fire in California – the Griffith Park fire of 1933 – after the death toll reached 29. According to the New York Times, there are over 220 people unaccounted for in Northern California.

“It's been a rough week. It has," Rodgers said during his post-match press conference while donning a Santa Monica Fire Department hat, according to NFL.com. "I've been on the phone with a lot of folks close to me in Northern California and Southern California.”

“I had the fortune to meet some great firefighters from Santa Monica in the offseason. They sent me this hat and as I was thinking at my house today, this was the only kind of paraphernalia that I have that could represent my support for those folks who are fighting the fires,” he said.

Almost the entire town of Paradise has been decimated according to reports and Rodgers paid special tribute to the people of the city where he played a lot of sports during his younger days. The death toll is expected to rise with The Guardian reporting that the containment on Sunday was at 25 percent.

"Obviously my heart goes out to the great people of Paradise, California. Growing up in Chico and spending a great deal of time up there, I played a lot of football and basketball and sports up in Paradise. Basically lived in Magalia at one point, which is kind of an even tinier town off of Paradise and the devastation there is tough. Hearing the stories of people running down the highways to avoid the fire. Knowing that people burned alive in their cars, it's heartbreaking for sure. And then, you have a fire in my adopted home of Southern California. So it's been a tough week for sure," he said.

"Myself and the guys from Southern California and Northern California, obviously our thoughts and our prayers are with those folks. Not only the great firefighters fighting the fire, but all the people displaced in my home area of Butte County and obviously down south in the L.A. area," he added.

Rodgers threw for 199 yards on Sunday night which included two touchdown passes to Devante Adams to take the Packers’ record for the season to 4-4-1.