Rain on the way to LA brings fears of toxic ash in wake of wildfires

Weather will aid firefighters, but heavy downpours on charred hillsides could bring the threat of poisonous runoff

Rain on the way to parched southern California on Saturday will aid firefighters mopping up multiple wildfires. But heavy downpours on charred hillsides could bring the threat of new troubles like toxic ash runoff.

Los Angeles county crews spent much of the week removing vegetation, shoring up slopes and reinforcing roads in devastated areas of the Palisades and Eaton fires, which reduced entire neighborhoods to rubble and ash after breaking out during powerful winds on 7 January.