Four hundred firefighters were battling the fire as it hopscotched around from canyons to the beach, where a single house surrounded by others went up in flames.

A firefighter on the scene said the blaze was apparently sparked by high-voltage power lines as gusts in excess of 60 mph (100 kph) raked the area overnight. Southern California had been on alert for strong winds, known as the Santa Ana winds, on Sunday.

Residents said the pre-dawn fire took them by surprise and gave them little time to pack belongings and get out.

"We were in the house and the fire was burning all around us," said Malibu philanthropist Lilly Lawrence, whose Castle Kashan was engulfed by the flames after she and a house guest escaped.

"The loss is way up in the double-digit millions," Lawrence said in an interview, noting that it contained family heirlooms, paintings and Elvis Presley memorabilia bought from his Graceland estate.

There were no reports of injuries.

Pepperdine University moved thousands of students to safe areas on the campus that was built with the high wildfire risk in mind. Students were given gauze masks for the fire debris.

Malibu is 25 miles (40 km) west of Hollywood and home to legions of entertainers who live in multimillion-dollar homes both on the beaches and up the steep canyons of the Santa Monica Mountains.

Local CBS news reported that a gated community that was evacuated is home to actor Mel Gibson and singer Olivia Newton John.

In January, a much smaller wildfire in Malibu destroyed four houses.

Authorities told people to not go to Malibu beaches, as is common on warm weekends. But surfers were seen in the water taking advantage of the surf amid the high winds.