Forecasters See Rain--but Not in Southern California : Weather: The prediction should ease fears of mudslides on fire-denuded O.C. hillsides. More reseeding efforts are scheduled for the next few days in Laguna.

Weather forecasters sought Monday to ease fears in Orange County that early rains might wash away fire-denuded hillsides, turning layers of ash into mudslides.

“The rain that will be coming in Wednesday and Thursday should stay in Northern and central California. There’s a very slight chance of some light showers or drizzle, but it looks like the majority of the rain will stay in central California,” said Curtis A. Brack, a meteorologist with WeatherData Inc., which provides forecasts for The Times.

“Any precipitation we get should be in the form of drizzle or heavy dew, with thick fog Wednesday,” Brack said.

“At this point, no rain,” said Scott W. Entrekin of the National Weather Service. “Right now we’re just going to go with partly cloudy for Wednesday.”

After the Laguna Canyon blaze was controlled, firefighters said there was a “strong” chance of flooding and mudslides in canyon areas where the vegetation was burned away.

However, concern for hillside stability in Laguna predates the fire. It goes back to January, when a rain-saturated neighborhood along the coast gave way, destroying three homes.

Government officials met last week in Laguna Beach to work out a strategy for avoiding flooding in low-lying areas. High on their list are efforts to quickly reseed the hillsides. Last weekend, California Conservation Corps workers started laying hay and planting seeds. More reseeding efforts are scheduled for the next few days.

Before the fire was controlled, a task force from the state departments of Forestry and Fire Protection, Fish and Game, and the U.S. Soil Conservation Service was set up to plan how to prevent mudslides and help recovery of the coastal habitat.

The coastal Orange County WeatherData forecast for today and tonight is clear, with patchy night and morning clouds. High temperatures should be in the mid-60s to the mid-70s.

Temperatures should cool Wednesday, and the sky should be partly to mostly cloudy. Highs should range from the mid-60s to the low 70s.

Seas should be calm, Brack said, with light surf for the next few days.

For inland Orange County, WeatherData forecasts sunshine this afternoon after patchy morning fog, with high temperatures in the 70s. There will be fair skies tonight, except for patchy fog in the evening.

Wednesday morning will be mostly cloudy, with the cloud cover breaking up somewhat in the afternoon, with high temperatures in the lower 70s.