A fierce California wildfire expanded Sunday, burning several thousand acres and forcing evacuations as tens of millions of Americans sweltered through scorching heat.

More than 2,000 firefighters backed by 17 helicopters have been deployed against the Oak Fire, which broke out Friday near Yosemite National Park, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) said in a report.

But two days after it began, the blaze has already consumed more than 15,600 acres (6,313 hectares) and remains zero percent contained, the report said, adding that heat combined with low humidity would "hamper" efforts Sunday.

"Extreme drought conditions have led to critical fuel moisture levels," according to CAL FIRE's report.

Described as "explosive" by officials, the blaze has left ashes, gutted vehicles and twisted remains of properties in its wake, as emergency personnel worked to evacuate residents and protect structures in its path.

It has already destroyed 10 properties and damaged five others, with thousands more threatened.

More than 6,000 people had been evacuated, said Hector Vasquez, a CAL FIRE official.

"It was scary when we left because we were getting ashes on us, but we had such a visual of this billowing. It just seemed like it was above our house and coming our way really quickly," one woman who had to be evacuated, Lynda Reynolds-Brown, told local news station KCRA.

"We started getting our stuff together, and that's when I went back up the hill and looked and I'm like, 'Oh my God.' It was coming fast," her husband Aubrey Brown told the station.

California Governor Gavin Newsom on Saturday declared a state of emergency in Mariposa County, citing "conditions of extreme peril to the safety of persons and property."

In recent years, California and other parts of the western United States have been ravaged by huge and fast-moving wildfires, driven by years of drought and a warming climate.

- Gore blasts 'inaction' -

Evidence of global warming could be seen elsewhere in the country, as 85 million Americans in more than a dozen states were under a weekend heat advisory.

The crisis prompted former vice president Al Gore, a tireless climate advocate, to issue stark warnings Sunday about "inaction" by US lawmakers.

Asked whether he believes US President Joe Biden should declare a climate emergency, which would grant him additional policy powers, Gore was blunt.

"Mother Nature has already declared it a global emergency," he told ABC News talk show "This Week."

And "it's due to get much, much worse, and quickly," he said separately on NBC.

But he also suggested that recent crises, including deadly heat waves in Europe, could serve as a wake-up call for members of US Congress who have so far refused to embrace efforts to combat climate change.

"I think these extreme events that are getting steadily worse and more severe are really beginning to change minds," he said.

The central and northeast US regions have faced the brunt of the extreme heat, which is forecast to lessen somewhat on Monday.

"Searing heat will continue across the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast tonight before the upper trough over Canada dips down into the region to moderate temperatures a bit tomorrow," the National Weather Service said Sunday afternoon.

But not all regions are expected to cool down: temperatures of 100 or more degrees Fahrenheit (37 degrees Celsius) are forecast in the coming days across parts of eastern Kansas and Oklahoma into southern Missouri and northern Arkansas.

Not even the usually cool Pacific Northwest will escape the far-reaching heat, with high temperatures "forecast to steadily rise over the next few days, leading to the possibility for records to be broken," the weather service added.

Cities have been forced to open cooling stations and increase outreach to at-risk communities such as the homeless and those without access to air conditioning.

Various regions of the globe have been hit by extreme heat waves in recent months, such as Western Europe in July and India in March to April, incidents that scientists say are an unmistakable sign of a warming climate.

Greece battles fierce wildfires amid Europe heatwaves
Athens (AFP) July 24, 2022 - Greece on Sunday battled four major wildfires that have forced hundreds to evacuate, as soaring temperatures there and in Spain raised fears of more blazes.

Scientists say human-induced climate change is amplifying extreme weather -- including the heatwaves, droughts and floods seen in several parts of the planet in recent weeks -- and say these events will become more frequent and more intense.

The international community has agreed that climate change poses an existential threat to human systems and the natural world -- but there are a myriad ways to take action.

Earth's average temperature has warmed just over 1.1 degrees Celsius (34 degrees Fahrenheit) since the industrial era and the United Nations says it is currently on track to warm some 2.7C this century.

Greece is in the grip of a heatwave that began on Saturday and is expected to last 10 days. Temperatures were set to rise to 42C in some regions.

Fire brigade spokesperson Yiannis Artopoios told a briefing on Sunday evening that Greece was facing "an explosive cocktail of drought, high temperatures and strong winds".

Fires raged in the north, east and south of the country, including on the tourist island of Lesbos, where around 200 people were ordered to leave the village of Vryssa on Sunday to escape the flames.

- Danger to people and wildlife -

Elderly women left the village carrying a few possessions in plastic bags, as thick smoke engulfed the first houses.

On Saturday residents and tourists were told to leave the island's beach village of Vatera.

In the northeastern region of Evros, hundreds of firefighters battled a wildfire that has been ablaze for four days in Dadia National Park, known for its black vulture colony.

Evros governor Dimitris Petrovits told Athens News Agency the authorities were doing all they could to protect locals and treat injured wildlife.

In the south, a fire in the Peloponnese caused the evacuation of three villages and a children's summer camp, while on the island of Crete a fire was raging inside a ravine.

In Spain, a heatwave that has persisted for two weeks was expected to produce record-high temperatures of 45C in the southern region of Cordoba.

This part of Andalusia registered Spain's highest-ever temperature -- 47.7C -- only last year.

The national weather office said the relentless heatwave since July 9 and the lack of rain since the start of the year across the Iberian Peninsula meant there was an "extreme" risk of fires.

In all, fires in France, Spain and Portugal have already burned more land so far this year than was destroyed by flames in all of 2021. The area -- some 517,881 hectares (1.28 million acres) -- is equivalent to the size of Trinidad and Tobago.

The World Health Organization said on Friday Europe's heatwave had led to "more than 1,700 needless deaths... in Spain and Portugal alone".

Firefighters in Britain were battling blazes in London on Sunday, days after the mercury climbed to 40.3C and smashed the country's temperature record.

The London Fire Brigade said it was dealing with more incidents than usual, with 205 personnel and 28 fire engines deployed to tackle fires at three sites across the capital.

It urged the public to cancel barbecues and remove rubbish from grassland.

- Wasting energy is 'absurd' -

The United States meanwhile sweltered in scorching heat set to exceed already record-setting temperatures, worsening an out-of-control wildfire in central California.

Tinderbox conditions in California sparking a fire on Friday near the Yosemite National Park and its giant sequoia trees, two days after President Joe Biden warned that climate change represented a "clear and present danger".

In France, the government announced on Sunday it was bringing in rules to curb energy wastage, which adds needlessly to the greenhouse gas emissions that fuel climate change.

Shops will be ordered to keep their doors closed when their air-conditioning or heating is on or risk a fine, energy transition minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher told RMC radio.

Leaving the doors open when the air conditioning is on leads to "20 percent more consumption and ... it's absurd", she said.

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Climate change drives Europe towards record fire year
Paris (AFP) July 21, 2022
The fires that have torched through Europe are on course to make 2022 a record year for forest loss on the continent, as scientists warn climate change is already contributing to ever fiercer blazes. Fires in parts of France, Spain and Portugal have already burned more land so far this year than in all of 2021 - some 517,881 hectares (5,000 km2), or the equivalent area of Trinidad and Tobago. "The situation is much worse than expected, even if we were expecting temperature anomalies with our ... read more