WISCONSIN (WFRV) - As the wildfires in Southern California continue to burn through thousands of acres, the firefighting efforts are on full display, and local fire specialists explain how surrounding areas became overwhelmed by flames. "The big difference is in California, it's a more arid climate, and so for us here, we have a lot more humidity, and that helps break down the forest fuels and litter that are on the forest floor," explained Michele Witecha, a prescribed fire specialist with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. Two students upgraded to good condition weeks after Wisconsin school shooting Jon Kellermann is the wildland firefighter and natural resources instructor at Fox Valley Technical College. He said Wisconsin wildfires are more concentrated, but they do happen. "When you have those Santa Ana winds, hurricane-force winds, it's hard to engage a fire at that point," he said. "The same thing could apply here when we have red flag warnings. We do get those here in Wisconsin, we get wildfires here in Wisconsin, and we can get up to a thousand wildfires plus in a season, a lot of them kept very small." Kellermann stressed knowing the proper safety measures, what to prioritize, and always having a plan of action as how you prepare. He said educating his students in the classroom is half of it, while taking them out into the field is just as important. "What you see out in California when they started, you know, we look at life, property, and natural resources in that order," explained Kellermann. "Protect life, then property, then natural resources. So the first thing when they saw that coming was you have to get people evacuated." It is also important to keep in mind methods of fire reduction, like regularly conducting controlled burns to lessen the amount of flammable vegetation, such as dry leaves, grass, and dead trees. American Legion’s ‘Be the One’ suicide prevention campaign "Vegetation types that we burn to prevent larger, out-of-control wildfires in the state are typically our pine barrens in the northwest and northeast," said Witecha. You can help relief efforts through the American Red Cross online or donate over the phone by calling 1-800-HELP-NOW.