San Diego ? A hot Santa Ana wind was blowing out of the desert last week, and the eastern horizon was hazy with smoke from backcountry wildfires.

“Keep our fingers crossed,” San Diego Chargers quarterback Drew Brees said.

The Chargers know all about wildfires and October games. As they prepared to play host tonight to their first Monday night game in nine seasons, against the Pittsburgh Steelers, they were keenly aware of what was going on around them.

Fortunately for all involved, last week’s fires weren’t catastrophic.

Two years ago this month, the Chargers were set to play their first home Monday night game since 1996, against the Miami Dolphins. It would be a homecoming for Miami’s Ricky Williams, and Dolphins linebacker Junior Seau would be facing the team that unceremoniously dumped him several months earlier.

Being on Monday night football brings a certain prestige, even to teams like San Diego, which at the time was in a long playoff drought.

But with three deadly wildfires burning out of control in San Diego County, Qualcomm Stadium’s parking lot was turned into an evacuation center. The game had to be moved to Sun Devil Stadium in Tempe, Ariz.

It wasn’t anywhere near as disruptive as what the New Orleans Saints are going through in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, but the Chargers discovered what happens when real life interrupts the NFL’s carefully planned world.

“It was tough, especially because of all of the things that were going on back here,” LaDainian Tomlinson said. “It was tough to go over to Arizona, for one, and then two, to play football.”