SIOUX FALLS, S.D. (KELO) — At least three fire crews from departments in South Dakota are on their way to California to help with the fires in the Los Angeles area.

As of Monday morning, 24 people have died in the fires and the fire has destroyed 12,000 structures and burned 60 square miles in the Palisades and Eaton areas. About 92,000 people were under evacuation orders in Los Angeles County as of Monday morning.

PHOTOS: Multiple vehicles fall through Bitter Lake ice

High winds are in the forecast for Tuesday through noon Wednesday.

Crews and engines from the Black Hawk Fire Department and Fairburn Fire Department in western South Dakota left Monday morning. Crews from Whispering Pines fire department and the South Dakota Wildland Fire also left Monday morning. Chief of operations for South Dakota Wildland Fire said a total of 16 firefighters and five engines from all four organizations will be in California.

“(California) is not looking for anything super specific. They just need the manpower,” said Black Hawk firefighter Yaden Miller. But they were specific about the equipment, he said.

“We have a type I engineer that can fight the fire head-on because it carries water,” Miller said.

Although the firefighters have experience with wildland and structure fires, the fires in California present their own challenges, Powell said.

“There’s wildland fire that’s pushing into homes that changes the dynamics and the dangers that are involved in that because you have numerous hazards out there that aren’t normally found in a normal wildland fire,” Powell said. “You’ve got power lines, houses going up, propane tanks. Just the evacuation of people clogging up roads, your escape routes…”

“The big thing with this one is the amount of residential homes getting impacted,” Miller said. “That’s why they are calling out so many resources.”

Four firefighters and an engine from Black Hawk are headed to California. Miller said three of the department’s four full-time members and a firefighter from Vermillion are part of the Black Hawk crew.

A four-member crew is attached to the Fairburn volunteer fire department crew, said district treasurer Moritz Espy. Espy said the crew includes two from Fairburn, one from Black Hawk and one from Argyle along with an engine.

Traveling to California or another state is a way to return the help those states also provide to South Dakota.

“I think a lot of it has to do with just helping out people in their time of need,” Powell said of what motivates firefighters and departments. “Last year in the Black Hills we had a pretty active fire season and California sent us some resources out here when we needed help here…”

Espy said firefighters want to help where they can. In the state, fire departments have mutual aid agreements and they often help each other.

“When you get into firefighting, you want to help,” Espy said. “There’s nothing better than going out of state and helping where you are needed. There is a sense of community fulfillment, helping those in need.”

“We go all over the country,” Miller said of Black Hawk.

Black Hawk firefighters were at fires in Indiana, Minnesota and Idaho along with two fires in California last summer, Miller said.

Powell said the firefighters will be working 16 hour days.

The crews will work two weeks with two days off.

Powell said SDWF has the option to extend the two-week shift by seven days.

Also, a new crew could be sent to California after this first crew completes its two week shift, Powell said.

The plan for Fairburn is to send a new crew to California so the other crew can return for a time, Espy said. The engine would stay in California for the exchange of crews.

Those that are able are likely to work a second two weeks in another shift or a later shift, Miller said.

Crews will likely be sleeping in tents while working in California, Espy said.

The logistics of preparing for the additional firefighters includes setting up temporary shelter as well as feed them, Powell said. He’s heard that some of the temporary quarters are on the beach.

Espy said another reason why crews leave is to help ensure the financial future of their local departments.

“We realized that one way to keep our fire department open is to do a lot of work out of state,” Espy said.

The crews get paid and the department gets paid for the use of the engine, he said. The payment for engine use “goes into our department,” Espy said.

In a time when funding for local fire departments can be a challenge, the revenue generated from out-of-state response is important, Espy said.

The crews will be driving the engines to California on a two-day trip.