By james art 
(Los Angeles)–Rain fell across Southern California on Sunday, bringing some relief to thousands of firefighters who have battled multiple large blazes for nearly a month in the Los Angeles area, but also sparked new threats of flooding and mudslides across lands with burning.
A flood watch issued by the National Weather Service is set to go into effect at 10 a.m. Local time Sunday for fire-ravaged areas of Los Angeles County, which is ground zero for the historic firestorms that have leveled thousands of homes and killed at least 28 people since they first ignited on Jan. 7.
A flood watch will remain in effect until Monday afternoon in burn areas left by the Eaton, Palisades, Franklin, Bridge and Hughes Fires.
The forecast is forecast to be widespread, but is expected to be light enough to avoid major flooding. But if the flow spends enough time on one of the last burn marks, the debris flow can become a problem.
Totals from the storm will mostly range from half an inch to an inch, allowing for a decent soak for the first time in months.
Since June 1, Los Angeles has received just 0.03 inches of rainfall, allowing an extreme drought to develop across the area for the first time in two years.
In addition to rain, the higher elevations of Southern California, including the San Gabriel Mountains that run into the cities of North Los Angeles and West San Bernardino, are expecting snow, with areas above 4,000 feet receiving up to 14 inches of dust.
The forecast of rain and snow comes as firefighters continued to battle five active fires Sunday from Ventura County north of Los Angeles to the Mexican border south of San Diego.
The Palisades Fire, which ignited Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County’s Pacific Palisades, was 84 percent contained as of Sunday after burning more than 23,000 acres, destroying nearly 7,000 structures and killing 11 people, according to the California Department of forestry and fire protection (Cal Fire).
The Eaton Fire, which also broke out Jan. 7 in Pasadena and Altadena, was 95 percent contained Sunday after burning more than 14,000 acres, destroying more than 9,400 structures and killing 17 people.
Other fires still active Sunday, according to Cal Fire, include the Hughes Fire near Castaic Lake, about 45 miles north of downtown Los Angeles, which was 90 percent contained after it started Wednesday and is burning more than 10,000 acres of brush land; The Border Fire 2, which broke out Thursday near the San Diego-Mexico border and is 10 percent contained after burning more than 6,600 acres of desert; and the Laguna Fire, which also started Thursday in Camarillo in Ventura County, was 98 percent contained Sunday after burning through 83 acres and prompting a brief evacuation of the UC Islands.
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