LA residents keep wary eye on rain that could help or hurt wildfire victims

With many communities still smoldering from the Los Angeles wildfires, the forecast for rain this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat.

With many communities still smoldering from the Los Angeles wildfires – and new fires still flaring up – the forecast for rain heading into the weekend would seem like a welcome relief. And it may be, but how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat. The National Weather Service said there is a high chance of widespread rain over Los Angeles County this weekend –– with light intensities spread out across many hours. There are no major flooding risks, except a 5% to 10% chance of significant debris in burn scares for Los Angeles and Ventura County, the weather service said. Isolated heavy rain measuring up to 0.5 inches an hour is also expected. Meanwhile, Santa Ana winds are expected to last through at least Friday morning, with the weather service extending its red flag fire weather warning until Friday at 10 a.m. across Los Angeles and Ventura counties. The ground in LA hasn’t seen a drop all month, so the moderate amount of rain in the forecast will be welcome if it comes at a pace that can be absorbed by the burn-scarred ground. A slow, steady stream would be a relief for everyone. But rain that comes in brief blasts could create flash flooding that would loosen soil and debris on charred hillsides, sending it tumbling toward decimated neighborhoods. “It behaves more like cement; the ground can’t accept the water so it all goes to runoff immediately,” said Ariel Cohen, the meteorologist in charge of the National Weather Service office in Los Angeles.