UPDATE 4-California's Malibu wildfires partly contained

(Adds comments on progress fighting fire, updated statistics)

By Jill Serjeant

MALIBU, Calif., Nov 24 (Reuters) - A wildfire fueled by gusty winds destroyed dozens of homes from the mountains to the beaches of Southern California's ritzy Malibu on Saturday and is only partially under control, fire officials said.

The second fire in a little over a month to hit this seaside enclave hugging the Pacific Ocean, popular with many of Hollywood's biggest stars, has blackened 4,500 acres (1,821 hectares) and forced more than 10,000 people to evacuate, Los Angeles County fire officials said.

"We are making some progress," said Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Ron Haralson. "The fire is 25 percent contained. The winds are not as strong as they were this morning, which is a help," he said.

Thirty-five multimillion dollar, ranch-style homes in the canyons of central Malibu were destroyed and as many as 200 homes were at risk, but the threat to at least some of the buildings has receded, Haralson said.

Against a brilliant blue sky, a pall of smoke billowed off the mountains and poured out over the ocean. Scores of spot fires dotted the hillsides.

State officials this week pre-positioned hundreds of fire fighters, aircraft and supporting fire gear across Southern California after forecasters predicted optimal fire conditions this weekend, fueled by Santa Ana winds that by early Saturday gusted up to 60 mph (96 kph).

The blaze spread rapidly, but a quick response by fire fighters saved many homes, one fire inspector said. "If we had not had the pre-deployed firefighters, we could have lost a lot more homes than we did," said LA County Fire's Sam Padilla.