Wildfires lay waste to Scorsese set

The wildfires raging through Southern California have destroyed a set being used for Martin Scorses's The Aviator film and forced the cast and crew, including Leonardo Dicaprio, to abandon the area.

The fire rampaged through Big Sky Ranch, which was being used for airstrip scenes in the film about Howard Hughes.

Nobody was hurt but the production switched to interior shooting. Plans for completing the airstrip scenes have not yet been decided.

Warner Bros, which is co-producing The Aviator, said in a statement: “We moved to interior sets because the surroundings weren’t conducive to shooting due to the blackened skies. For our production this is just a minor inconvenience compared to those who are currently suffering through the devastating effects of the fire.”

As well as DiCaprio, The Aviator stars Cate Blanchett as Katherine Hepburn, Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardiner and Gwen Stafani as Jean Harlow.