New Orleans, LA – President Donald Trump announced that the city of New Orleans was experiencing a “major fire” and that he would be evacuating the city’s downtown area, including the city`s tallest building, the Bat House.

“I am sending a message that New Orleans is safe and that New York is safe.

We are doing everything that we can to make sure New York stays safe,” Trump said in a statement.

The White House confirmed to ABC News that Trump was “receiving reports of a major fire” in New Orleans.

 “President Trump is currently in New York City, where he continues to receive reports of an active fire in the New Orleans area.

The president is urging the public to stay safe and stay off the roads,” the White House said in the statement.

New Orleans Mayor Mitch Landrieu told reporters that the area was under a “severe” fire warning and that the fire department had been sent to the scene.

Fire officials told ABC News they were trying to determine the cause of the fire, but that it was “under investigation.”

New Orleans is a popular tourist destination, but the city is still reeling from a devastating flood in 2015, when more than 1,000 people were killed and thousands more were displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

Officials were on the verge of declaring a state of emergency in the wake of that disaster, but a federal judge later ruled that the state could not declare a state emergency.

New Orleans and other Louisiana cities have been hit hard by the aftermath of Katrina, with millions of dollars worth of damages.

As the president announced that he was sending a “strong message” to New Orleans residents, the city also announced that it would be sending in its own firefighters.

The mayor of New York’s New York city confirmed to reporters that a major incident in New Jersey had caused an evacuation order for the borough.

The New York Police Department tweeted that an evacuation was in place for New Jersey and New York and said a total of 6,000 police officers and firefighters were on hand.

The governor of New Jersey, Chris Christie, said that his state`s evacuation order had been lifted and that people in the state`ll be able to return to their homes as of 7 p.m. local time on Wednesday.ABC News’ Michael R. Harrison contributed to this report.