US federal authorities have charged a man with maliciously starting one of the most destructive wildfires in Los Angeles history – the Palisades blaze in January.

If convicted, 29-year-old Jonathan Rinderknecht faces a sentence of between five and 20 years in a federal prison.

The fire in the Pacific Palisades area killed 12 people and destroyed 6000 homes and other buildings.

According to court documents, the fire arose from an earlier blaze that appeared to have been put out but continued to smoulder in the root structures of dense vegetation. A week later, heavy wind caused this underground fire to surface and spread.