Authorities in California removed a large, three-story tree house which was built illegally in northwestern Los Angeles on Wednesday as the local government works to clear a homeless encampment said to be inhabited by 100 people.

City sanitation workers dismantled the structure in the Sepulveda Basin.

Authorities worked to remove the encampment, which is located on a 34-acre stretch of designated parkland that is said to be at high risk of flooding and brush fires.

Images of the dismantling were posted by the California Highway Patrol, whose officers stood watch to make sure that the sanitation workers were not harmed during the removal process.

California Highway Patrol officers observe as Los Angeles sanitation workers dismantle an illegally built three-story tree house used by homeless people on Wednesday

The illegally built structure is located in the Sepulveda Basin in the northwest neighborhood of Encino

Los Angeles sanitation workers cleaned up the homeless encampment near Encino Creek on Wednesday

They wore hazmat suits as they removed debris from the park land in northwestern Los Angeles

'This is a part of a multi-phase and multi-agency clean up operation in the basin,' the CHP wrote in a Facebook post on Thursday.

'LA Homeless Services Authority (LAHSA) has been on-site before and during the cleanup to offer services to anyone willing to accept assistance.

‹ Slide me › The city is implementing a multi-phase plan to clear out the homeless encampment in the Sepulveda Basin, which began last summer after brush fires hit the area. The images above show how part of the basin looked before and after the clean-up

'Law enforcement is on scene for the safety of the workers and service providers.'

In another Facebook post, the CHP said that the area where the tree house was built is prone to flooding and brush fires.

'Just putting this out there: The City of LA is doing this cleanup in the basin,' the agency wrote.

'The law enforcement presence is to ensure the safety of the workers and service providers.

'There are zero police officers dismantling these homeless encampments.

'Also, this area is very close to an active flood basin and is off-limits to the public.

'If you live in the valley, you know this area floods quickly with heavy rain and creates water rescue situations that could be avoided.

A homeless man sleeps on a sidewalk in Los Angeles on Wednesday

Homeless residents gather outside their tents on a sidewalk in Los Angeles on Wednesday

California Governor Gavin Newsom said his state budget will include more than $1billion directed towards homelessness, in response to a growing crisis on the streets on California's major cities

Several tents housing homeless people are seen on a Los Angeles city street on Wednesday

The high cost of living in California as well as the prohibitive cost of owning a home are said to have fueled the rise in the homeless population throughout the state

The number of homeless people reached 59,000 in Los Angeles this year, representing an increase of 12% on the previous year. The number eight years previously was just shy of 40,000

'Even more, this area is notorious for brush fires, which often originate from illegal campfires in encampments. Things to think about...'

The cleanup, which began at 8am on Wednesday, is part of a four-phase plan launched by local authorities last August.

The city accelerated clean-up efforts after the area was hit by numerous brush fires.

Hazmat crews were deployed in full protective gear to clear the area of the encampments. It is estimated that the effort could take days.

One of the encampment's residents, Jackie Canez, told CBSLA that she has lived in the basin with her boyfriend for six years.

She became teary-eyed as she described the pain of having to leave.

'Depression, anxiety led us to the streets and we ended up staying here because we found a permanent spot,' said Canez.

When the hazmat crews began clearing up the area, Canez started frantically searching for her two cats.

'They’re going to come in and remove belongings that I can’t move, he can’t move, and I have two cats,' an emotional Canez said.

A city employee offered to put Canez in a shelter, but she was hesitant to accept because there was no guarantee she would be able to stay with her boyfriend.

‘We’re going to end up on the sidewalks somehow and we’re going to end up right out in the open,’ she said.

In September, the Los Angeles City Council unanimously passed an ordinance which gave police the authority to order homeless people out of encampments located in high-risk fire-danger areas during heightened wildfire conditions.

California Governor Gavin Newsom is asking state lawmakers to approve a $1.4billion budget allocation to address the homelessness crisis

The ordinance was passed just weeks after a fire was reported in the Sepulveda Basin.

Nobody was hurt in the fire.

In December 2017, a far more serious fire, the Skirball Fire, ravaged the area.

It destroyed more than 400 acres of the Sepulveda Pass as well as half of a dozen homes.

Twelve other homes were damaged by the fire.

In a recent report, the Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority claimed the number of people who were homeless countywide in 2019 was 58,936 residents, up from 52,765 in 2018.

In the city of Los Angeles, the homeless population grew 16 percent since last year. LAHSA estimates that 36,300 people are homeless within city limits.

California continues to grapple with an escalating homelessness crisis.

A homeless man is seen sleeping on a sidewalk in Los Angeles earlier this year as the numbers of people requiring shelter continues to climb

People walk in Skid Row while new school supplies were donated to thousands, including new athletic shoes donated by Foot Locker over the weekend

A homeless man moves his belongings from a street near Los Angeles City Hall, background, as crews prepared to clean the area during the summer

Supporters claim that declaring an emergency would free up state and federal funding reserved for natural disasters, such as earthquakes or wildfires. Trash is seen lining the street of Skid Row, where homeless people have been camping for years

Governor Gavin Newsom is seeking $1.4billion dollars from lawmakers to tackle the growing problem in his state and plans to use the money to open shelters, pay rent and provide health care, his office said.

The Democratic governor, who plans to formally submit his proposal on Friday, this week also signed an executive order directing agencies to identify state-owned land that can be used as temporary shelters for the homeless.

'Homelessness is a national crisis, one that's spreading across the West Coast and cities across the country,' Newsom said in a statement.

'The state of California is treating it as a real emergency - because it is one.'

His executive order also calls for the supply of 100 camp trailers for temporary housing and to deliver health services, as well as the creation of a crisis response team to address street homelessness.

His proposals come amid an escalating homelessness crisis in California, despite hundreds of millions of dollars pledged in recent years to address the problem.

According to a report published this week by the US Department of Housing and Urban Development, nearly 568,000 people experienced homelessness on a single night last year across America, with more than a quarter of them - about 151,000 - living in California.

The report said homelessness in California increased by 21,306, or 16.4 per cent, between 2018 and 2019, which is more than the total national increase of every other state combined.

An eye-opening map (pictured) shows the scale of Oakland's growing homelessness crisis just a day after the Supreme Court let stand a ruling that protects people's rights to sleep on the street across several Western states

Homelessness in Oakland started to skyrocket between 2015 and 2017 (depicted above), when the number of homeless individuals increased by 26 per cent

Data (above) from Oakland shows that nearly 70 per cent of homeless individuals in the city are Black, according to Oakland Homeless Response

This graphic shows that 86 per cent of the homeless in Oakland were residents prior to becoming homeless

In 2016, Oakland and Alameda County voters approved local measures for affordable housing production but noted that the affordable housing deficit will take years to overcome. Rent assistance is factor that may have prevented some individuals from becoming homeless in the city (as depicted above)

One the key reasons for the mounting numbers is a severe shortage of affordable housing and gentrification sweeping many California cities.

Experts say that a person earning minimum wage currently would need to work 80 hours a week to afford a one-bedroom apartment in Los Angeles.

The cost in San Francisco is even higher.

Newsom hopes his 2020-2021 budget proposal to tackle homelessness will help stem the crisis in the country's most populous state, which boasts the fifth-largest economy in the world.

According to his office, his plan calls for $750million that would be used to pay rent for homeless people and for the building of affordable housing.

An additional almost $700million in state and federal matching funds would be allocated on preventive health care.

'Californians have lots of compassion for those among us who are living without shelter,' Newsom said.

'But we also know what compassion isn't. Compassion isn't allowing a person suffering a severe psychotic break or from a lethal substance abuse addiction to literally drift towards death on our streets and sidewalks.'

California has come in for stinging criticism from President Donald Trump over its inability to beat back the rising number of homeless residents and last year suggested federal intervention was needed.