BILLINGS As four different wildfires continue to swarm much of the Los Angeles area, buildings and land are being eaten alive by the flames. The combination of abnormally dry conditions and strong, Santa Ana winds have created a perfect storm with all four fires growing and spreading quickly. Former Billings resident Chad McKinsey lives in Tarzana, which is less than an hour from two of the fires. McKinsey said the flames have spread shockingly fast. Truly devastating," McKinsey said on an online web call Wednesday afternoon. "I never thought, like, that could happen to that neighborhood. What's been the toughest thing to realize is just how quick this all happened." McKinsey said he received storm alerts on his phone Sunday evening about the high winds. In just a few days, four wildfires had picked up momentum and were devastating the area. "The Palisades have been very devastating, just because of how many homes have been in the path of that destruction," McKinsey said. Perhaps the area that is the most damaged is the small suburb of Pacific Palisades. It's located about 40 minutes from where McKinsey and his family live and is also the location of a few studios where McKinsey produces music. "I've been there once a week for the last 11 months, if not, twice a week," McKinsey said. "There's a good chance both of those studios where I work are gone." Longtime Montana firefighter Al Nash keeps tabs on big fires like these because he knows it isn't out of the realm of possibility for Montana firefighters to get called in to help. "It's not unprecedented, but it is unusual," Nash said. "All of us find ourselves, when we're in a unique situation with big fires, ordering in help from somewhere else." Nash said firefighters never had much chance battling this blaze because the conditions are causing such explosive growth. "With the temperature, with the drought, with the scope of these winds and densely populated areas, there's very little firefighters can do," Nash said. MTN meteorologist Jason Stiff echoed Nash. "This is the time of year where we should be getting a lot of rain in that part of the world," Stiff said. "But they haven't had much lately and now they have a big windstorm problem." Stiff worked in California for nearly 10 years before returning to Montana. He said wildfire season is almost never-ending, especially in a year like this one with so little precipitation. "If it's a normal year, you would expect this to be the wet season of California," Stiff said. "But if you get Santa Ana winds like this and anything sparks, there's no stopping that fire." Nash said the firefighters have their work cut out for them, and that even with their best effort, it's going to take time to get control of the blaze. "It's going to be a while before they get the upper handle on this," Nash said. "Mother Nature needs to give them a break." As for McKinsey, he's doing his best to keep everything in perspective. "I still have my home, my family is great, and all the people I know are fine," McKinsey said. "That's what's most important."