Vice President Kamala Harris is canceling the final foreign trip of her term because of the wildfires in her home state of California, her office announced on Thursday.
Her decision follows a similar one made by President Joe Biden, who was due to travel this week to Rome to visit Pope Francis and meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy but instead stayed in Washington.
Harris had planned to visit Singapore, Bahrain and Germany from Jan. 13 to 17. The itinerary suggested she wanted to continue playing a global role even after losing the presidential election to Donald Trump, who takes office on Jan. 20.
Firefighters have been struggling to get a handle on several blazes in the Los Angeles area.
At a White House meeting with Biden on Thursday, Harris said wildfires will continue to be a year-round threat.
“It doesn’t matter what month of the year,” she said. “We should be ready.”
Harris’ own home, in the Brentwood neighborhood, is located in an evacuation zone.