Especially strong Santa Ana Winds and dry weather in Southern California aided in the Los Angeles area wildfires this week. Find out what the Santa Ana Winds are and how they contributed to such disastrous wildfires. Professor Kevin Speer, a fire dynamics specialist at Florida State University, explains additional factors that have led to these wildfires and provides examples from Florida's wildfire prevention that could be helpful in how California deals with fires.BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:As the Palisades Fire burns for a fourth day it is now 8% contained, but many have wondered what caused such a disastrous fire. Let's break it down.The main atmospheric contributor to the ongoing fires in Southern California is what is known as Santa Ana Winds. At their strongest during winter months, they occur due to a high-pressure system over the southwest with a low-pressure system nearby to the south.The close proximity of two pressure systems creates a big pressure difference over a short distance. As a result, air rushes quickly between the two systems, which creates a wind flow from the northeast.This air rushes over the mountains in Southern California. When strong enough, the Santa Ana winds make it over the mountain and begin to rush downslope.Now, air at the higher levels of the atmosphere, on mountaintops, is much drier than air at the surface. This means the wind pushing down the mountain is very dry, increasing the risk of fire danger.As the strong wind knocks down power lines and impacts other fire hazards, it does not take long for a simple spark to grow into a raging inferno.But Santa Ana Winds are common in California this time of year, so what made this event so destructive?This is where we bring in Kevin Speer, a professor at Florida State University who specializes in fire dynamics.He notes that the Santa Ana Winds "in this particular week have been so strong that they've forced higher winds in different areas, away from the main canyons that fire normally spreads in."The past two winters being on the wetter side for Southern California caused more vegetation to grow. Much of this vegetation has dried out during the dry season, providing more fuel to burn."Over time, what is fair to call the changing climate has produced seasons of dryness that are expanded compared to what they used to be. Then these pieces overlap. These extreme events start to overlap more often. So whereas in the past where you might find strong winds but wetter conditions, now you might find that the strong winds happen to overlap with drier conditions."Speer tells me there are solutions we can focus on."The most important thing to protect us against wildfires is more fire, prescribed fire. And that is one of the biggest differences between what happens in the southeast and what happens out west."While fire risk in the Big Bend and South Georgia is not as high as out west, "It is a definite risk in Florida. Fires can burn right through a swamp. What matters is that there is flammable fuel that's dried out above the ground."Even with it being a little drier this time of year, there is no immediate fire danger in the Big Bend and South Georgia. Here at ABC 27 our weather team will be the first to let you know if that changes. From the ABC 27 studios, I'm Meteorologist Riley Winch.