Palisades Fire initially started 10:30 a.m. Jan. 7 in Los Angeles County. It has burned 23,448 acres after being active for 17 days. A crew of 2,420 firefighters has been working on site and they managed to contain 77% of the fire by Friday morning. The blaze's cause remains under investigation.

Officials ordered evacuations in the area surrounding the Hughes Fire on Wednesday morning, located near Castaic Lake in Los Angeles County.

Firefighters have battled multiple fires in Los Angeles and Ventura counties over the last few days. But after an epic dry streak, Southern California will get its first real rain of the winter this weekend.

The Palisades and Eaton wildfires also continue burning in the Los Angeles area, leaving parts of Southern California with devastating fire damage.

Firefighters made progress on the more than 10,000-acre Hughes Fire Friday, which sent thousands fleeing after sparking near the Los Angeles County community of Castaic a day earlier.

As of Friday morning, there are nine active wildfires burning in California and a red flag warning remains in place.

The Hughes Fire near Castaic, north of Los Angeles, was 24% contained on Thursday afternoon, according to Cal Fire.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department said in an update Thursday that 18 people remain missing after the Southern California wildfires. Overall, authorities received a total of 43 missing persons reports related to the Eaton and Palisades fires. Of those, 12 were located safe.

According to Azusa police, a man who has admitted to setting a fire at a park has been arrested as the investigation continues.

At least 28 people are believed to be dead and more than a dozen others remain unaccounted for as multiple wildfires rage across Southern California.

With parts of Los Angeles County still smoldering from wildfires, the expected rain this weekend would seem like a welcome relief. But how the rain falls could make the difference between a disaster respite or a disaster repeat.

Dustin and Jennifer Nehl were arrested last weekend after police said they were caught trying to enter the Palisades Fire evacuation zone dressed as firefighters.