The Palisades and Eaton wildfires also continue burning in the Los Angeles area, leaving parts of Southern California with devastating fire damage.

The fire threat remains critical in Southern California, where thousands of residents were under evacuation orders Wednesday as fire crews battled the out-of-control Hughes Fire near Castaic, a suburb in the foothills and mountains of northern Los Angeles County.

At least 28 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across Southern California.

Rain was falling across Southern California on Sunday, bringing some relief to thousands of firefighters who have been battling multiple major wildfires in the LA area.

With parts of Los Angeles County still smoldering from wildfires, the expected 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.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in an update Thursday that 18 people remain missing after the Southern California wildfires. Overall, authorities received a total of 43 missing persons reports related to the Eaton and Palisades fires. Of those, 12 were located safe.

Coverage of the Hughes, Sepulveda and Laguna fires in Southern California during a fourth consecutive day of red flag fire weather warnings.

Areas where the Palisades, Franklin, Eaton, Bridge, and Hughes wildfires burned are under a flood watch, the weather service said Sunday. Fresh burn scar areas stand at greater risk of mudslides because they no longer have trees and vegetation providing support to the land, according to AccuWeather Meteorologist Jacob Hinson.

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Firefighters quickly extinguished several brush fires that erupted Monday in Southern California amid windy and dry conditions. The extreme fire weather is raising the risk of new wildfires like the two major blazes still burning near Los Angeles that started in similar weather nearly two weeks ago.

Firefighters in Southern California are once again battling a wildfire, this time in Castaic in Los Angeles County, north of Los Angeles itself. Evacuation orders have been issued for the surrounding areas.

Exhausted firefighters battling deadly infernos for weeks are now grappling with more wildfires torching Southern California – including one that’s threatening 14,000 structures.

Rain in Southern California raises risk of toxic ash runoff in wildfire-scorched areas. Flood watches in effect, with potential mud and debris flows threatening affected regions.