Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi had to evacuate their pets from their Californian home after raging wildfires threatened to destroy it.

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi

Ellen DeGeneres and Portia de Rossi

The talk show host revealed the couple have removed their animals from their $18.6 million beachfront Santa Barbara house after The Thomas Fire, one of the blazes scorching California, neared their plush pad.

Ellen wrote on Twitter: "Our house is under threat of being burned. We just had to evacuate our pets. I'm praying for everyone in our community and thankful to all the incredible firefighters. (sic)"

But the 'Ellen Show' presenter admitted she was "proud" to be part of the community after seeing everyone come together at such a scary time, and she praised the firefighters for their efforts.

She tweeted: "Everyone in the Montecito area is checking up on each other and helping to get people and animals to safety. I'm proud to be a part of this community. I'm sending lots of love and gratitude to the fire department and sheriffs. Thank you all. #ThomasFire (sic)"

The Thomas Fire has scorched more than 200,000 acres in the Santa Barbara area and more than 88,000 people have had to evacuate, with 85,000 without power.

Around 4,000 firefighters have been deployed to deal with the blaze.

Last week, Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency as wildfires ripped through California.

He told CBS News: "These fires are unprecedented. We've never seen anything like it. Scientists are telling us, 'This is the kind of stuff that's gonna happen.' And we gotta deal with it."