JEANNE MESERVE, CNN ANCHOR: In the West, hot, dry and windy conditions are complicating firefighting efforts in Colorado. It's being called a "critical day" in the battle against two wildfires raging north and southwest of Denver. In all, more than 13,000 acres have burned, over 50 structures destroyed. Reinforcements from other states are pouring in to help firefighters try to get the upper hand. CNN's Rusty Dornin is in Park County, Colorado with the latest -- Rusty.</s>RUSTY DORNIN, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well, hundreds of firefighters were warned repeatedly this morning about how dangerous the fire conditions are because of the wind. The winds are expected to gust up to 50, 60 miles an hour later this afternoon, and it's what's called a red-flag fire day. And that means low humidity and high winds is just -- produces a nightmare for firefighters. Firefighters do say that it's something that they could easily lose a handle on.</s>SHANE DELGASSO, FIRE BEHAVIOR ANALYST: They think is what we're going to see is this fire's going to become very active. With blowup conditions, we expect some runs. And we're going to see the flame lengths and fire intensity exceed the capabilities of our resources.</s>DORNIN: Now, the southern edge of this fire south of Denver, its called the Hi Meadows fire. There's about 3,000 homes scattered within the woods in this area, very difficult to protect. Many people have evacuated. And they are having a town hall meeting later today to let people know who are out of their homes what the situation is. They are warning them that they should not go back into their homes yet because of the erratic wind conditions. They're hoping for a respite tonight when a cold front comes through, and hopefully some rain tomorrow. Rusty Dornin, CNN, live near Bailey, Colorado.
Dry, Windy Conditions Complicate Colorado Firefighting Efforts