New York, 9 January 2025 (dpa/MIA) - At least five people have died in wildfires raging across the Los Angeles area in the United States, County Sheriff Robert Luna has said.

At least six wildfires are burning across the Los Angeles area, including the Palisades fire, which is the largest having burned more than 15,800 acres, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection.

A state of emergency has been declared, with more than 130,000 people ordered to evacuate or prepare to evacuate the area, Luna told a media conference.

US President Joe Biden declared the fire-affected region in California a disaster area. The president's action makes federal funding available to those affected by the fires.

Deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh told media additional firefighting personnel and equipment would be sent to California.

However, she warned that current weather conditions were hampering firefighting efforts.

"Right now we can't even get assets up in the air because the fires are so bad and the winds are so bad," Singh said.

"Until we can get more assets in the air, there's only so much we can provide; so, we're going to be standing by to support in every single way that we can," she added.

Biden later cancelled his planned trip to Italy due to the wildfires.

In a short statement, White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Biden had travelled to Los Angeles on Wednesday to meet with police, fire and emergency personnel.

On his return to Washington, Biden made the decision to cancel his upcoming trip to Italy to "remain focused on directing the full federal response in the days ahead," Jean-Pierre said.

Biden had planned to have one more audience with Pope Francis in the Vatican on Friday. The US president had also planned to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni during his time in Italy.

According to US media, the wildfires are one of the worst in the history of Los Angeles, with more than 1,000 buildings destroyed.