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LA airports ‘actively monitoring’ California wildfires as 200,000 are evacuated

Airports in Los Angeles are “actively monitoring” devastating wild fires in California which have seen the number of residents forced to evacuate escalate to almost 200,000.

The level of evacuees has risen from just 27,000 in a matter of days as 5,000 firefighters battle four bushfires that have destroyed hundreds of properties in the south of the state.

The number of people forced to flee nearly quadrupled on Thursday as a fifth fire broke out north of San Diego.

California’s fire service said the blaze had forced the evacuation of 189,000 residents by Thursday afternoon local time.

The state’s governor Jerry Brown has declared a state of emergency in the area.

Officials at Los Angeles International (LAX) and Van Nuys general aviation (VNY) airports are actively monitoring the impacts of fires in Ventura County, Bel-Air, Santa Clarita, San Bernardino and Sylmar.

“Aircraft operations at both LAX and VNY continue to operate as normal, with no adverse impact to arriving or departing aircraft. Officials will continue to monitor air and wind conditions for changes,” a spokesman said.

“Guests coming to and from LAX should expect delays due to increased traffic throughout the region’s streets and freeways.”

Firefighters were seen removing artwork from luxury homes In the wealthy Los Angeles enclave of Bel Air on Wednesday as the Skirball Fire raged, the BBC reported.

The neighbourhood is home to celebrities and business leaders from Beyonce to Elon Musk.

One in four schools in Los Angeles were also closed.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office issued a travel alert on Wednesday advising British visitors to California to monitor local media reports and follow the advice of local law enforcement officials, including any evacuation orders.

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