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Adam Ho often asks himself why he lives in Los Angeles — its prices prevent him from buying a home or traveling as much as he dreams or entertaining to his delight.

“In the beginning, it was the culture and the music, the pop-up food and the nightlife,” said the aficionado of downtown L.A., an out-of-work waiter. “These days, it’s COVID, peer pressure to wear or not wear masks, more fires than you ever imagined, and, man, the smog is brutal.”

And the haze will only worsen. An advisory from the South Coast Air Quality Management District issued Friday says two major local fires, as well as wildfires racing across Central and Northern California, are sparking challenges to residents the minute they step outdoors, not to mention leaving trails of smoke heading south, affecting vast swaths of land in the L.A. Basin.

The Bobcat fire exploding north of Azusa and Monrovia in the Angeles National Forest, with a burn area of more than 26,000 acres, was only 6% contained as of Friday morning, according to officials. Meanwhile, the El Dorado fire leaping up the San Bernardino Mountains near Yucaipa, spanning nearly 14,000 acres, was 31% contained early Friday.

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