It's starting to look more and more like Sunday's game between the Chargers and Raiders will remain in Oakland despite the deadly wildfires in the area.
The Raiders announced Friday that the game is tentatively set to be played as scheduled, but that could change if the league feels that the air quality conditions in the Bay Area are too dangerous for football.
"Sunday's game against the Chargers remains scheduled for 1:25 p.m. at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum," the team said in a statement. "We will continue to monitor air quality conditions in the Bay Area and will update the public with any changes via our social media channels."
Due to the wildfires, the NFL had considered changing the location of the game. Not only was the league looking at Levi's Stadium in nearby Santa Clara as a possibility, but the city of San Diego also offered to host the Chargers for the first time since they bolted town after last season.
Aimee Fawcett, the chief of staff for San Diego mayor Kevin Faulconer, said that San Diego would be thrilled to host the Chargers one more time.
"We are always happy to help other cities during times like these," Fawcett said, via the San Diego Union-Tribune.
Despite the offer, the NFL is cautiously moving forward with plans to have the game in Oakland, which is located roughly 45 miles from the fires. The smoke from the fires has been wafting into the Bay Area, which as led state officials to issue health and smoke advisories in both Oakland and San Francisco.
You can see the smoke wafting into Oakland/San Francisco from a fire burning near Vallejo/Napa area. pic.twitter.com/ZiBuXe0kKQ
— Matt Keller (@MattKellerABC7) October 9, 2017
The death toll is up to 31 in the wildfires, which have burned across more than 220,000 acres, according to CBS News.
If the air quality in Oakland does deteriorate, the league might still consider moving the game. However, if a location change doesn't happen Friday, then the game will definitely be played in Oakland as scheduled, according to NFL spokesman Joe Lockhart.
"We can't wait until the day before [to move the game]," Lockhart said, via ProFootballTalk. "I expect, based on historical precedent, if a decision is made that we need to move the game, that decision will be made [Friday]."
During a conference call on Friday morning, Lockhart also said the league has several contingency plans available for the game. However, he wouldn't reveal what those plans might be.
In 2003, the Chargers faced a similar issue when they had a home game moved to Arizona due to fires in Southern California.