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Rain Brings Hopes, Fears To Drought-Hit California

LOS ANGELES - A Pacific storm has moved into drought-dry California, bringing hopes for much-needed moisture but fears of mudflows on wildfire-scarred hillsides.

Light rain began falling before sunrise Tuesday, but the heaviest downpours are expected later in the day.

Storm watches are posted for a large swath of the Sierra Nevada, where a huge amount of the state's water supply is normally stored as snowpack. Significant accumulations are predicted but not enough to be a drought buster.

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In the Los Angeles area, residents in foothills below burn areas piled sandbags in hopes of keeping debris flows out of homes.

Forecasters say the storm could drop about 1 to 2 inches of rain along the Southern California coast and in valley areas, and 2 to 5 inches in the mountains and foothills.
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