Flooding and landslides hit California as rain pounds fire zones

A monster rainstorm was drenching southern California on Thursday, with officials in Los Angeles readying for flooding and landslides in areas burned by last month's huge wildfires.

Heavy rain was falling across a swath of the state, with as much as 15 centimeters expected in some places, forecasters from the National Weather Service (NWS) said. 

That volume of water in such a short period of time could create problems in areas ravaged by blazes that killed at least 29 people in January. NWS issued a flash flood watch for the bulk of Los Angeles County.