Showers that had been wetting down the Bay Area all week finally began to peter out Wednesday, leaving minimal storm damage — unlike in Southern California, where rains this week caused deadly mudslides.

In the Bay Area, the last remnants of rain peppered Santa Cruz and the North Bay, where the threat of potential hillside slippage still loomed but wasn’t imminently likely, said Anna Schneider, a meteorologist with the National Weather Service.

“You can still sometimes get (mudslides) even if it’s not currently raining. It’s still possible,” Schneider said. “We are not expecting anything significant, nothing like what you’re seeing in Southern California.”

By Wednesday afternoon, 15 people were confirmed dead from the hazardous weather conditions below canyons scorched by last month’s Thomas Fire. That blaze burned more than 281,890 acres in Ventura and Santa Barbara counties, making it the largest wildfire in modern California history, officials said.

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Watch This Dramatic Rescue During the California Mudslides A Coast Guard MH-60T Jayhawk helicopter crew rescued this family in Santa Barbard County that included the mother, father, their newborn, seven-year-old son and their three-year-old daughter. There have been 13 reported deaths as a result of the devastation in California. The results of last month's historic wildfires left the area vulnerable to mudslides.

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Authorities were still trying to identify victims, and were attempting to rescue at least 300 more people from homes leveled by debris flows, said Santa Barbara County Sheriff Bill Brown.

At least 7,000 mandatory evacuations were in place in the county, officials said.

Five hundred firefighters from across the state were responding to the disaster, and Highway 101 through Montecito (Santa Barbara County) was shut down until Thursday.

Though conditions weren’t as precarious in the North Bay, several minor rockslides along the Sonoma County coast have broken loose this week.

In Napa County, a motorist was killed on Highway 121 Tuesday evening after driving down an embankment when a rockslide occurred, said CHP Officer Vincent Pompliano.

It’s unclear what role the burn scar in the area might have played.

Highway 121 near the 4000 block of Monticello Road remained closed in both directions after the incident, with no estimated time for reopening.

The next bout of showers in the Bay Area will occur Thursday, mainly in the North Bay, though it likely will bring only a few hundredths of an inch of rain to the region, Schneider said.

By Friday, the sun should begin to peek through the cloudy haze throughout the Bay Area.

Temperatures should rise to the low 60s for the region, giving way to a sunny few days before clouds return on Sunday afternoon, Schneider said.

“The weekend looks pretty good,” Schneider said.

The next chance for showers in the Bay Area after that will be on Monday and Tuesday, but Schneider said the incoming rain won’t be as strong as this week’s storm.

“It could change,” Schneider said. “Right now, it looks like our next best chance for anything a little bit stronger is (Jan. 18), but that’s pretty far out so that will probably change between now and then.”

Sarah Ravani is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: sravani@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @SarRavani