By Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden canceled an upcoming trip to Italy due to the wildfires in California, the White House said on Wednesday, adding that he wanted to focus on directing the full federal response to the fires.
The White House announced in December that Biden would visit Italy from Jan. 9-12 to meet Pope Francis, Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
"After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where earlier today he had met with police, fire and emergency personnel fighting the historic fires raging in the area and approved a Major Disaster declaration for California, President Biden made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead," the White House said in a statement.
The raging wildfires surrounding Los Angeles spread to the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday, after five other fires in the area killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies to the limit.