(Reuters) - U.S. President-elect Donald Trump, who has sharply criticized California's response to devastating wildfires in Los Angeles, on Saturday said he would most likely pay a visit to the area next week after his inauguration.

President-elect Donald Trump, in perhaps his first official trip after being inaugurated Monday, will likely visit the Los Angeles area to survey wildfire damage late next week.

The president-elect has repeatedly criticized state and local officials in California for their response to the deadly fires.

The remarks come over a week after California Gov. Gavin Newsom invited Trump to visit the state and meet the victims impacted by the wildfires.

President Donald Trump’s first week in office will include a visit to wildfire-ravaged Los Angeles. “I’m going to go out there on Friday to see it and to get it moving back,” Trump said at a rally ahead of Monday’s inauguration.

The state’s Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom invited Trump last week, but the president-elect told NBC News that he felt it was “better if I went as president.”

President-Elect Trump said he'll visit Southern California areas affected by the historic wildfires on Friday. The big picture: Trump at a pre-inauguration rally in D.C. on Sunday announcing his visit said he wanted to send his "love to everyone affected" by the Los Angeles-area fires that have killed at least 27 people.

President-elect Donald Trump said Saturday that he will "probably" travel to California next week to view the devastating wildfires in Los Angeles County.