CALABASAS, Calif. (AP) – The helicopter carrying Kobe Bryant and eight others that crashed outside Los Angeles was flying in foggy conditions considered dangerous enough that local police agencies grounded their choppers.

Bryant’s helicopter plunged into a rugged hillside Sunday with an impact that scattered debris over a large area and killed everyone aboard. Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter, Gianna, were among the victims. They were headed to a noon basketball game where Bryant was to coach and his daughter was to play.

The accident unleashed an outpouring of grief from admirers around the country who mourned the sudden loss of the all-time basketball great who spent his entire 20-year career with the Los Angeles Lakers.

Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva says his department’s helicopters were grounded due to the weather in the area where a helicopter crashed and burned Sunday morning. Conditions were extremely foggy when the NBA great’s helicopter went down northwest of Los Angeles on a hillside in the city of Calabasas, killing everyone aboard.

The sheriff told a press conference that debris is scattered over an area the size of a football field.

The county medical examiner, Dr. Jonathan Lucas, says recovery of remains may take several days. Lucas says investigators will try to make identifications of the victims as quickly as possible.

Dallas Mavericks, longtime opponents of Kobe Bryant’s in NBA’s Western Conference, will retire his #24 according to the Dallas Morning News. Team owner, Mark Cuban, released a statement Sunday announcing the unprecedented honor.