Mudslides blocked roads around Los Angeles on Friday after heavy rain pounded areas burned by last month's wildfires, sending denuded hillsides tumbling.

Storms have caused flooding and mudslides in areas previously hit by wildfires in and around Los Angeles. Roads were partially buried under thick layers of mud by Thursday evening, according to US media reports.

A firefighter driving his department vehicle was swept into the ocean in Malibu when caught by a wild mudslide as fire-ravaged sections of Los Angeles were pounded by a powerful rain storm. The damaged white Los Angeles Fire Department SUV was seen trapped in the water after being pushed down a beachside hill by debris caught up in the cascade of rain,