Los Angeles, California - Sheriff's deputies on horseback fanned out through charred brush on Friday, hunting for victims of the huge wildfires that raced through Los Angeles.

At least 27 people are known to have died in the two massive blazes, with dozens still missing.

Ten days after the flames erupted, frustration was growing among the tens of thousands who remain in limbo, unable to return even to homes that were spared by the flames because of unseen dangers like toxic pollution or the risk of landslides.

An angry Nina Madok, who lost her home in the Palisades Fire, told AFP an information meeting for evacuees on Thursday night had been "worthless."

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"We need local leaders from the Palisades to answer our questions now... not these charlatans," she said.

Officials said Thursday it would be at least a week until anyone could go home.

Urban search teams using cadaver dogs continued their painstaking trawl through Altadena, where whole blocks of homes were incinerated.

"We're going to every single structure and searching every inch that we can to try and find anyone," said Dan Paige, who is helping to coordinate official search efforts in the city.

In the countryside above Malibu, Los Angeles County Sheriff's deputies on horseback were also looking for the dead.

Although they reportedly have no specific information that there was anyone in the wild area, it all has to be searched before it can be reopened to the public.

Thousands of firefighters continued their efforts to snuff out hotspots over the 40,000 acres that have been burned – an area almost as big as Washington DC.

All over Los Angeles, signs have appeared thanking first responders, including one outside the studio where Jimmy Kimmel records his late-night chat show.

TMZ posted a video of diners in Calabasas clapping and cheering as uniformed firefighters stood up from their meal, which the site reported had been paid for by other customers and the restaurant.

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The acclaim for first responders stood in contrast to the bickering that characterizes the current US political atmosphere, which has seen Republicans across the country line up behind President-elect Donald Trump as he bashes California's Democratic leadership for their response.

Trump has previously threatened to withhold federal aid to the state unless Governor Gavin Newsom bends to his policy demands, and some congressional allies have sought to link cash to the incoming administration's priorities.

Actor Eric Braeden, a mainstay of daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless, on Thursday lashed out at the politicization of the issue.

"We contribute more taxes than any other state in America," said the German-born actor, whose Pacific Palisades home was razed in the fires.

"In California, there's a state that gives to all the other states. So guys, the rest of the county, don't point your finger at California."