Written by Kanishka Singh
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – U.S. President Joe Biden has canceled an upcoming trip to Italy due to wildfires in California, the White House said on Wednesday, adding that he wants to focus on directing the full federal response to the fires.
The White House announced in December that Biden would visit Italy from January 9 to 12 to meet with Pope Francis, Italian President Sergio Mattarella, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni.
“After returning this evening from Los Angeles, where he met earlier today with police, fire and emergency personnel battling the historic fires raging in the region and approved a major disaster declaration for California, President Biden has made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to California.” The White House said in a statement that Italy will continue to focus on directing a full federal response in the coming days.
Raging wildfires surrounding Los Angeles spread to the Hollywood Hills on Wednesday, after five other blazes in the area killed at least five people, destroyed hundreds of homes and stretched firefighting resources and water supplies to the limits.
