Southern California Braces For Major Storm

MALIBU, CA - JANUARY 4: Sandbags and barriers have been placed to protect property from flash floods, mudslides, and debris flows that could result from rain falling on hills that were denuded by a series of firestorms that swept across southern California in October, January 4, 2008 in Malibu, California. After drought conditions and a record-dry year that lead to the wildfires, a series of storms is blowing into the region with the promise of some relief from the drought. The Corral Fire in Malibu was one of a dozen major fires that burned across more a half-million acres killing at least nine and destroying more than 2,000 homes. It was the second major series of wildfires to hit Southern California in four years. (Photo by David McNew/Getty Images)