Southern California was primed for more mudslides and flooding on Friday, especially in areas scorched by last month's devastating wildfires, even as heavy rains that have saturated the Los Angeles area this week tapered off.

A swift debris flow swept a Los Angeles Fire Department vehicle off the Pacific Coast Highway and into the ocean as heavy rain fell across Southern California on Thursday, creating deluges of water and mud on roads at the bottom of hillsides left barren by recent wildfires.