Biden canceled his trip to Rome due to wildfires in California.
This was reported by AP, as conveyed by Ukrinform.
Biden was expected to depart on January 9 after delivering a farewell speech for former President Jimmy Carter in Washington. During his three-day visit to Rome and the Vatican, Biden was set to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, as well as Pope Francis.
“President Biden has decided to cancel his trip to Italy to focus on leading the full federal response in the coming days,” stated White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
The announcement to cancel the three-day trip came just hours after Biden left Los Angeles following a meeting with his first great-grandson, born Wednesday to his eldest granddaughter, Naomi.
While in Los Angeles, Biden also met with police, firefighters, and emergency service personnel who are battling the fires in the region and approved a disaster declaration for California. This will enable federal funding for temporary housing and home repairs, as well as low-interest loans to cover uninsured property losses for those affected by the fires. It also includes additional financial assistance for state and local governments to cover firefighting and recovery costs.
“We are ready to do whatever it takes to contain the fires in Southern California and assist in recovery. But we know it will be a long road ahead. The federal government is here to stay as long as you need us,” Biden wrote on social media platform X.
Currently, 7,500 firefighters are working to extinguish the blazes. As a result of the fires, 400,000 people are without electricity. Approximately 1,000 buildings have been destroyed. It is reported that over 100,000 people have been forced to evacuate from Eaton, Hurst, and the upscale Pacific Palisades area.
Preliminary estimates suggest that the damages caused by the wildfires in the region range from $52 billion to $57 billion.
As reported by Ukrinform, a wildfire and powerful storm winds that rapidly spread the flames have created a serious threat in the vicinity of Los Angeles, where celebrity homes are located, forcing dozens of people to evacuate urgently.