California fire partly under control

A wildfire that destroyed 49 homes in California's exclusive beachside community of Malibu is partly under control.

Officials said the fire - which was the worst to strike the community in 15 years, and the second to strike in just over a month - was 40 per cent contained by Sunday afternoon, and no other houses were in imminent danger.

More than 10,000 had been forced to evacuate as the blaze tore through 4,720 acres, but many have now been allowed to return home.

State officials this week pre-positioned hundreds of firefighters, aircraft and supporting fire gear across Southern California after forecasters predicted optimal fire conditions this weekend.

The blaze started on Saturday and more than 1,700 firefighters, 15 helicopters and 12 fixed-wing aircraft were mobilized.

"If we had not had the pre-deployed firefighters, we could have lost a lot more homes than we did," said Los Angeles County Fire's Sam Padilla.

As of Sunday morning, 51 structures had been destroyed including the 49 homes, many of them multimillion-dollar, ranch-style mansions in the canyons of central Malibu.

Red Hot Chili Peppers' bass player, Flea, said his home had been "burned to a crisp".

Across the region in October, at least a dozen people died, more than 1,500 homes were destroyed and 250,000 residents fled during the blazes, the largest evacuation in California's recent history.

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