By Trevor Hunnicutt

WASHINGTON (Reuters] – President Joe Biden visited Colorado last Friday to witness the devastating effects of a rare winter wildfire. The fire destroyed two Denver-area villages and displaced thousands.

Two persons were reported missing after wind-driven Marshall Fire on December 30th, which incinerated 1,000 homes, was the worst in state history. On Wednesday, human remains thought to be belonging to one of those missing were found.

Officials said that the prairie grass fire, which erupted in Boulder County on the northern edge of Denver, consumed more than 6,000 acres of land in just two hours. At times, the flames consumed football-sized stretches of dry, parched terrain in mere seconds.

Biden’s visit to Boulder County will see him tour the neighborhood of Louisville and talk to families who have been displaced by the fire. It is Biden’s second presidential trip to Colorado, and his second to wildfires.

Biden declared the latest fire on the Eastern fringe of Rocky Mountains as a National Disaster, allowing federal money to be used for residents and businesses.

Because of snow cover, bracing cold and snow cover, Colorado’s normal wildfire season doesn’t usually last into the winter. Climate change and increasing global temperatures have made some parts of the west more dry and incendiary.

Insured losses from the fire, which laid waste to parts of the towns of Superior and Louisville, are expected to run about $1 billion, according to catastrophe modeling firm Karen Clark & Company.

Built Back Better Act is the president’s main legislative initiative. It would send billions of dollars towards increased forest management and firefighting as well as efforts to decrease carbon emissions.

The bill, opposed by Republicans, passed the Democratic-controlled House of Representatives in November. The Senate must pass it, as Biden has not yet secured the necessary support.