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Actor Dick Van Dyke and musician Cher are among thousands of residents who have been ordered to evacuate from the city of Malibu after a fast-moving wildfire broke out and burned acres of the wealthy Los Angeles-area enclave, BBC News reports.

The blaze has been dubbed the Franklin Fire by authorities, who say it started in Malibu Canyon at about 22:50 local time on Monday (07:50 GMT) and has so far burned at least seven homes.

A mandatory evacuation order is in place for a swathe of Malibu. No injuries have been reported, but the blaze was still zero per cent contained as of Tuesday night.

It is not yet clear what caused the fire, but the region has been under a red-flag warning, meaning conditions are ripe for extreme fires.

More than 3,000 acres of land have so far been burned, according to the latest update from the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire).

The blaze has left a trial of burnt-out cars and buses as well as the charred remains of homes.

Malibu is popular with celebrities. Homes owned by stars including Lady Gaga, Beyonce and Jay Z were reportedly among those in the evacuation zone.

Van Dyke was among the stars forced to flee, he said in a post on Facebook.

The Mary Poppins star, who turns 99 on Friday, said he and his wife Arlene safely left with their pets, except for one cat named Bobo, which remains missing.

"We're praying he'll be OK and that our community in Serra Retreat will survive these terrible fires," he wrote on Facebook.

Witnesses told KABC-TV that the home belonging to the actor's neighbour had caught fire, but that Dyke's was untouched.

Singer Cher also had to flee the fire, according to the New York Times.

Barbra Streisand is another famous resident of Malibu, however, her publicist told the New York Times it's unclear whether she has evacuated.

Schools in the area have closed, roads are shut, and power has been cut locally to prevent worsening the blaze.

Meanwhile, evacuation centres have been opened for residents and animals. More than 5,000 people were in the evacuation zone, according to data from Cal Fire.