The massive Palisades Fire broke out in Los Angeles on Tuesday afternoon, prompting mandatory evacuations affecting tens of thousands of people and highway closures. Later Tuesday, the Eaton Fire broke out in the foothills of Pasadena on the other side of Los Angeles County.

Rows of cars at a dealership, blasted by flames, looked like they had been bombed. A man wearing a mask walked by debris of a neighborhood destroyed. A couple, arms around each other, looked at what was left of their smoldering home. A statue of a human, without a head, lay on a street.

President Joe Biden will no longer travel to Rome, Italy, this week as scheduled, the White House announced late Wednesday, canceling the trip in the final days of his presidency to monitor raging wildfires across the Los Angeles,

In what would have been his last overseas trip as president, Joe Biden had been set to depart for Italy Thursday night to meet with Pope Francis.

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.