Local officials are preparing to host President Joe Biden on Friday, when the president is expected to tour the damage from the Marshall fire that destroyed nearly a thousand homes and forced the evacuation of tens of thousands of residents.

The White House announced Wednesday afternoon that the president and first lady Jill Biden will travel to Boulder to survey wildfire damage, followed by a trip to Las Vegas to attend a memorial service for former Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid on Saturday.

“We welcome a visit by the president to see firsthand the devastation that Boulder County has experienced,” Gov. Jared Polis said during a news conference Wednesday. “We look forward to conveying to the president the needs of the community, both short-, medium- and long-term, around housing and around rebuilding.”

In a statement, U.S. Rep. Joe Neguse said he and Polis will join the president, adding Biden will talk about urgently needed federal support for the individuals and businesses displaced by the fire, which spread quickly across thousands of acres on Dec. 30.

“This week, many in the Boulder County community – throughout Superior and Louisville – are beginning the long road to recovery in the wake of the unprecedented and terrible Marshall Fire,” said Neguse, who represents the area, in a statement. 

The congressman added: “We cannot expect our communities to bear the burden of this disaster on their own. We must bring the full force of the federal government to bear as our communities work to rebuild and recover.”

Neguse said he is “deeply grateful” to the Biden administration for swiftly authorizing a disaster declaration this past weekend, which allowed federal funds to flow to communities ravaged by the fire.

“I look forward to hosting him on the ground on Friday to share firsthand the powerful stories of Boulder County’s resilience and strength,” the congressman said.

Polis earlier urged the president to visit areas ravaged by the Marshall fire when the two spoke on Dec. 31. A day later, Biden officially approved a major disaster declaration.

The swift action means federal funding is available to affected individuals in Boulder County. The assistance includes grants for temporary housing and home repairs, as well as low-cost loans to cover uninsured property. The declaration also means recovery aid for individuals and business owners.

“I also spoke to the president just before this press conference,” Polis had said. “The president called. He offered his support for the people of Colorado.”

Gubernatorial spokesperson Shelby Wieman later told Colorado Politics that Biden also conveyed to Polis his “sorrow for our loss and desire to help rebuild.”

“The governor invited the president to visit the affected areas once rebuilding gets underway,” Wieman said.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency last week approved Colorado’s request for a Fire Management Assistance Grant after determining the Marshall Fire “threatened such destruction that it would constitute a major disaster.” The decision makes federal funding available to pay for 75 percent of some of Colorado’s firefighting costs, such as expenses for field camps, equipment and tools, repair and replacement, mobilization and demobilization activities, and materials and supplies, the agency said.

Biden last visited Colorado in September to promote emerging technologies to take on climate change during a stop at the Arvada campus of a national laboratory, just a few miles south of the spot where authorities believe the Marshall fire started.

Standing in front of arrays of solar panels and giant wind turbines after touring the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s Flatirons Campus, Biden sounded the alarm on what he termed the “code red” climate emergency.

The day before his September visit to Colorado, Biden toured areas ravaged by wildfires in Idaho and California.

“The bottom line is, it’s everywhere. It’s everywhere. Communities that nearly one in three Americans call home have been struck by weather disasters in just last the last three months,” Biden said.

Authorities say “critically dry” conditions in Boulder County fueled the grass fire that tore through suburban subdivisions last week, resulting in the most damaging wildfire in state history, with losses estimated as high as $850 million.

This developing story has been updated. Denver Gazette reporter Hannah Metzger and Colorado Politics managing editor Luige Del Puerto contributed.