The first rain of the winter will fall on Southern California this weekend, bringing temporary relief to the areas scorched by wildfires that President Trump is visiting again Saturday — but also the threat of mudslides and flash floods — and the dry spell will likely make a quick return.
Los Angeles and Ventura counties, where wildfires that broke out early this month are still burning, could see up to an inch of rain Saturday into Sunday, and up to 2 inches could fall in the foothills and mountains.
The rain, combined with cooler temperatures and onshore winds from the ocean, will dampen vegetation that has been fueling wildfires, help clear ash and dust from the air and will give firefighters better conditions to contain the blazes, according to meteorologists.
But fast-falling rain can cause mudslides on the charred earth.
“Intense flames and heat from recent wildfires have weakened and destroyed vegetation that anchors the soil,” explained AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Heather Zehr.
“Rainfall that would normally be absorbed by the soil can quickly runoff of scorched areas.”
Trump and first lady Melania are in Palisades Saturday to tour the devastation and receive a briefing from local officials, according to White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Marine One is wheels down in Palisades, California where President Trump and the First Lady will tour fire devastation and receive a briefing from local officials pic.twitter.com/ZRRojQxSCS
— Karoline Leavitt (@PressSec) January 25, 2025
The burn scars at greatest risk of landslides are those left from the Palisades and Eaton fires, which were 81% and 95% contained, respectively, as of Saturday afternoon, according to officials.
There hasn’t been a significant storm in the area since the beginning of October.
Adding fuel to the fire are flood watches in effect for those areas as well as where the recent Franklin, Hughes and Bridge fires tore through, according to the National Weather Service.
The Franklin and Bridge fires have been fully contained but fast-burning Hughes north of LA is 87% contained, and the Laguna blaze in Ventura County is 90% suppressed.
“While damaging debris flows are not the most likely outcome, there is still a lot of uncertainty with this storm,” the Los Angeles NWS said on X.
“The threat is high enough to prepare for the worst-case scenario.”
LA County is distributing sandbags ahead of the wet weather and preparing burn areas for the potential mud and debris flows.
The latest fire to break out in the Golden State, “Border 2,” scorched over 6,000 acres so far and prompted evacuations southeast of San Diego, just north of the US-Mexico border. It was only 10% contained as of Saturday morning.
The region is expected to also get a reprieve with up to an inch of rain this weekend.
But the relief will be short-lived as the dry spell is expected to return after the weekend along with gusty Santa Ana winds that can stoke the flames and keep the fire risk in SoCal at “critical” levels, according to AccuWeather.
President Trump visited the wildfire wastelands on Friday, where he scolded LA Mayor Karen Bass for not using her emergency powers and greeted an uninvited Gov. Gavin Newsom, who begged for aid for the state.
The wildfires have killed 28 people and caused $250 billion in damage.
