SANTIAGO, July 4 (Reuters) - Chile declared a red alert around the Llaima volcano on Friday, just days after it spewed lava down one of its sides.

The red alert affected a lightly populated area that is home to about 40 people on the slopes of the volcano, one of the most active in South America.

Snow-capped Llaima, near Chile's picturesque lake region, erupted violently on New Year's Day, forcing the evacuation of some tourists and residents from the surrounding Conguillio National Park. It then belched ash and lava in February.

The 10,253-foot (3,125-metre) volcano is about 435 miles (700 km) south of the capital Santiago.

Llaima's renewed activity comes after the Chaiten volcano, 760 miles (1,220 km) south of Santiago, started erupting on May 2 for the first time in thousands of years, spewing out ash, gas and molten rock. (Reporting by Rodrigo Martinez; Editing by John O'Callaghan)

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