President Biden will no longer travel to Italy this weekend as fires rage in Los Angeles County, the White House said Wednesday.

“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,” press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a statement.

Biden had planned to leave for Italy on Thursday, where he was scheduled to meet with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and Pope Francis at the Vatican.

At least five people have been killed, and thousands have been forced to evacuate as fires have spread this week across parts of Los Angeles County, with high winds further complicating efforts to quell the blazes.

Biden earlier Wednesday met with firefighters and California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) during a briefing at a Santa Monica, Calif., fire station, where he described the fires as “astounding” and pledged the full support of the federal government.

Firefighters are battling three separate blazes in Los Angeles County, officials said. Los Angeles County Fire Chief Tony Marrone told Biden the department was receiving assistance from Arizona, Nevada, Oregon and Washington firefighters.

The White House said it was surging resources to the impacted areas of California, including five U.S. Forest Service air tankers, 10 federal firefighting helicopters and dozens of fire engines from the Forest Service.