Biden tours Colo. wildfire damage, comforts victims

Offering hugs and humor, President Joe Biden comforted Coloradans grappling with rebuilding homes and businesses that were destroyed last week by a rare wind-whipped, winter fire that burned through a pair of heavily populated suburbs between Denver and Boulder.

Biden, and First Lady Jill Biden arrived in the Harper Lake on Friday to survey the damage, passing the burned remnants of homes next to damaged structures still standing. The fire broke out unusually late in December following months of drought with a dry fall and a winter with hardly any snow.

Nearly 1,100 buildings, most of them homes, were destroyed, causing an estimated $513 million in damages. The blaze also burned through eight businesses in Louisville and neighboring Superior. Federal, state and local agencies and nonprofits have been offering housing assistance, counseling, food, stipends and other aid to residents.