The National Weather Service issued a flood watch effective from 4 p.m. Sunday to 4 p.m. Monday for areas in or near burn scars created by the Palisades Fire, Eaton Fire, Hughes Fire and Bridge Fire, the latter blaze of which burned 56,000 acres last fall.

The first significant rain of Spring arrived in the Los Angeles area on Sunday, giving firefighters still battling to fully contain multiple major wildfires a much-needed helping hand. But the slow-moving storm also carried a risk of flash floods and debris flows from the sprawling burn scars,

The fires, which began on Jan. 7 and are still not fully contained, have killed 28 people and damaged or destroyed nearly 16,000 structures. The rain will bring cleaner air and improve fire-fighting conditions, but some authorities have expressed concern that overall rain will make things worse.

Extreme conditions helped fuel the fast-moving fires that destroyed thousands of homes. Scientists are working to figure out how climate change played a role in the disaster.

Scientists say the fires that engulfed Los Angeles were made 35% more likely due to climate warming.