It started around 04:00 BST on Monday at an oil tank in Sunnyhill Park, and spread to adjoining houses.
The fire service said significant damage has been caused to three houses, the roofs on two of the properties have collapsed.
No-one has been injured. Sixty firefighters and eight appliances remain at the scene.
More than 40 residents had to leave their homes while fire crews worked to stop the fire spreading.
Kevin O'Neill, area commander with the Fire and Rescue Service, described it as "quite a complex fire".
"We were called initially to a shed on fire," he said.
"The shed fire spread to a fence and then to an oil tank which ruptured.
"The oil from that oil tank flowed across the back of several properties setting fire to other oil tanks causing partial roof collapse on two properties."
A dozen houses in Dunmurry, on the outskirts of Belfast, have been evacuated because of a large fire.