Thousands flee huge wildfire as it bears down on upmarket LA suburb that's home to stars including Kim, Kanye and Kylie Jenner

Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and celebrities have been sharing pictures of billowing smoke as a wildfire tears through southern California.

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West left their Calabasas home on Friday just before a third-alarm brush fire sparked up on Saturday in the area and Kylie Jenner shared photos of smoke on social media.

As that fire started three others broke out in southern California, NBC 4 reported, burning 200 acres of land and threatening 3,000 homes.

'Three thousand homes are evacuated, which is about 5,000 people,' Tony Coroalles, city manager of Calabasas, told CNN.

The fire forced mandatory evacuations in the Highlands, Eddingham and Adamsville neighborhoods, fire officials said.

But as night fell on the area and temperatures cooled, it was reported about 15 per cent of the fire had been contained.

Scroll down for video 

Firefighters fight a wildfire from the air in Calabasas, California on Saturday evening. Tony Coroalles, city manager of Calabasas, said three thousand homes had been evacuated

Hundreds of firefighters worked to douse the wildfires as they approached homes and worked to get residents out of the area - one firefighter was injured while battling the blaze

The fires all merged in the Calabasas area, causing one massive blaze, dubbed the 'Old Fire'. Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes

Four massive fires have torn through 200 acres of land in Southern California causing a mandatory evacuation in the Highlands, Eddingham and Adamsville neighborhoods

Hundreds of firefighters spent all day Saturday into the night trying to contain the raging inferno that consumed the upscale Calabasas area 

Kylie Jenner posted these images to Snapchat of a raging wildfire burning through the Calabasas area on Saturday

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West left their Calabasas home on Friday just before a third-alarm brush fire sparked up on Saturday in the area, causing a mandatory evacuation. Kylie Jenner (pictured, right) was posting pictures of the blaze from her home (left) on Saturday

Kylie continued to post photos of the fire (pictured) raging in her hometown of Calabasas as she drove around the city with her friends

Firefighters approach a brush in the foothills outside of Calabasas on Saturday, as the fast-moving brush fire swept through hills northwest of downtown Los Angeles

Firefighters monitor a brush in the foothills as the fire, which has damaged homes and prompted neighborhood evacuations, rages on  

A firefighting helicopter, carrying water, flies near the Kittridge Fire in the upscale Los Angeles neighborhood of Calabasas, near where the Kardashians live

Another of Kim's sisters, Kylie Jenner, is one of the celebrities close to the path of the inferno.

Kylie posted multiple videos to Snapchat, showing black smoke billowing over her home.

'There’s the fire next to my house!' she said, narrating one of her videos.

In a second Snapchat she can be heard asking: 'Am I going to have to evacuate?' 

Celebrities also sent tweets out about the fire.

Ellen DeGeneres said: 'Sending thanks to Portia's brother Michael & all the rescue workers on the scene of this dangerous fire in Calabasas.'

Makeup artist and model Jeffree Star wrote: 'Just getting home and THANK YOU for all asking if me and Nathan are ok! Calabasas has some crazy fires...' 

But one Calabasas resident told DailyMail.com: 'While the celebrities are being dramatic as we can all see the fires, no one is being forced to flee as the fires were always headed east and Calabasas is in the west.'  

'Nobody can sit in their driveways or sit in their houses and ride this out. They need to get in their car and evacuate immediately,' Los Angeles County Fire Chief Dennis Cross told NBC 4 

The blaze was reported at approximately 4.30pm and immediately started creeping toward homes, NBC reported.  

By 5.30pm the fire had grown rapidly in acreage.   

Several structures have been damaged, but to what extent has not yet been made clear.   

The 200-acre blaze that erupted Saturday afternoon northwest of downtown Los Angeles is threatening about 3,000 homes, according to Los Angeles County fire officials 

Thousands of people have been forced to flee their homes and celebrities have been sharing pictures of billowing smoke as a wildfire tears through southern California 

A firefighting helicopter dumping water on fire in the foothills could be seen from the corner of Eddingham and Mullhuland Highway, where mandatory evacuations were being enforced 

A firefighter hoses down the remains of an out building near the foothills outside of Calabasas

As she drove around Kylie stuck her head out the window to smell the blaze. 'This is our city. We were born and raised in Calabasas. This cannot happen,' Kylie said in a video

She seemed to be feigning fear as she posted images of herself looking terrified while watching local news coverage of the Calabasas fire

Kim Kardashian (left) and Kanye West (right) went out of town on Friday, just before a third-alarm brush fire sparked up on Saturday in the area, causing a mandatory evacuation

Fires were burning close to homes in the Topanga Canyon and Mulholland Highway areas around Calabasas, but officials didn’t have an immediate damage assessment 

The blaze was reported at approximately 4.30pm and started creeping toward homes. By 5.30pm it had rapidly grown in size and caused damages

Hundreds of firefighters worked to douse the wildfires as they approached homes and worked to get residents out of the area.

The Los Angeles County Fire Department reported that one firefighter was injured while battling the blaze. 

Three water-dropping helicopters were also used to put the fires out.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Lost Hills Station was initially leading a voluntary evacuation in the area and sending residents to nearby Agoura High School.

The cause of the fire is believed to be linked to excessive heat in south California. 

A propane tank exploded from the heat of the fire near the Calabasas Klubhouse Pre-School as the flames crept closer. Firefighters worked to control the area and protect the school.

Officials believe another fire began when a car crashed into power poles, downing lines in three different places, NBC 4 reported.

The fires all merged in the Calabasas area, causing one massive blaze, dubbed the 'Old Fire'.

One of the fires, in Temecula, California, burned 35 acres of brush and caused temporary highway closures.  

Only an eighth of an acre was burned in a Santa Clarita fire and a the third blaze burned two acres of the West Hills area.

This year has seen El Nino storms finally bringing some relief to the drought-ravaged Golden state.

However, central and southern California – especially the foothills of the Sierra Nevada – have been at high risk for fires in 2016.

Wildfire season is considered to be in July and August because of hot and dry conditions. 

'That's the smoke over my neighborhood right now,' former Playboy bunny Kendra Wilkinson Snapchatted on Saturday during the blaze

Smoke from a fast-moving brush fire sweeping through hills in Calabasas, California, could be seen from Pasadena some 40 miles to the east

Hundreds of firefighters worked to douse the wildfires as they approached homes and worked to get residents out of the area. Three water-dropping helicopters were also used to put the fires out

The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department's Lost Hills Station was initially leading a voluntary evacuation in the area and sending residents to nearby high school

The fires are believed to have been caused by an abnormally high temperature and dry winds, though the temperatures are not record-breaking

But the months before and after are still subject to sparking massive fires.

Last year California had ‘two of the top-10 most devastating fires in the state's history — very similar conditions to what's occurring in Canada right now,’ Ken Pimlott, chief of the California Department of Forestry and Fire Prevention told CNBC.

‘There's drought-induced tree mortality and we have just critically parched, dry vegetation, all (resulting in) just explosive fire conditions,’ he said.

One of the major problems facing California is its population of dead trees.

State and federal officials estimate there are 29 million dead trees throughout the Sierra Nevada mountain range, CNBC reports.

‘There are a lot of trees that have died because of long-term drought and maybe some bugs as well,’ Heath Hockenberry, National Weather Service's national fire weather program manager, said.

The trees act as fodder for the fires to rage.

Two ‘mega-fires’ in northern California caused an estimated $2 billion in damages last year.

The ‘Butte’ and ‘Valley’ fires destroyed 1,830 homes and left six people dead.

It also destroyed approximately 150,000 acres of land in five different counties, including areas that were home to wineries and vineyards.

‘The fire risk potential is quite high, particularly in Central and Southern California, where either the hope for El Nino rains didn't really come but there were enough rains to cause more brush to grow and chaparral to grow.’

‘What will happen as they go into the dry season is all that new growth and greenery will dry out and it will just end up being more fuel for potential fires later this summer and autumn,’ Mark Bove, a senior research meteorologist for Munich Reinsurance America, told CNBC.

This year appears to be on track for a ‘more average year for us than we've had in five or six years,’ U.S. Forest Service officials said. 

Calabasas is a city of about 23,000 residents in the hills west of the San Fernando Valley and northwest of downtown Los Angeles. 

It is believed the fire is close to the homes of Kim's sisters Khloe and Kourtney Kardashian, as well as Scott Disick, Lamar Odom, Jessica Simpson, Katie Holmes, the Jackson family and Mariah Carey