LOS ANGELES, July 24, 2022 (BSS/AFP) - A California wildfire ripped through
thousands of acres Saturday after being sparked a day earlier, as millions of
Americans sweltered through scorching heat with already record-setting
temperatures due to climb.

The heat wave encompassing multiple regions has increased the risk of blazes,
such as the major Oak Fire, which broke out Friday in California near
Yosemite National Park, where giant sequoias have already been threatened by
flames in recent days.

The fire -- described as "explosive" by officials -- grew from about 600
acres to around 11,900 acres (4,800 hectares) within 24 hours. Concentrated
in Mariposa County, it has already destroyed ten properties and damaged five
others, with thousands more threatened.

More than 6,000 people had been evacuated, said Hector Vasquez, a California
Department of Forestry and Fire Protection official, as the fire remained
uncontained as of Saturday evening.

The department said the fire's activity was "extreme."

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."

The blaze 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.

More than 500 firefighters are working to extinguish the flames and are being
assisted by aircraft, Vasquez said. Officials cited by the Los Angeles Times
said it could take a week to contain.

"There's personnel showing up from various departments all over the state to
help control this fire," Vasquez told AFP, saying the situation remained
"really challenging."

Climate scientist Daniel Swain tweeted that the fire was "exhibiting
consistently extreme behavior," while stunned social media users posted
images of billowing plumes of smoke that reached thousands of feet into the
air.

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.

Drought and high temperatures have been "not in our favor," Vasquez said.

- Record-breaking heat -

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

The central and northeast US regions face the brunt of the extreme
temperatures, which are not expected to peak until Sunday at the earliest and
have sent public health officials scrambling.

"From the southern Plains into the East, it will feel extremely oppressive,"
the National Weather Service (NWS) said Saturday evening, warning as well of
possible severe storms.

Central US metropolitan areas such as Dallas and Oklahoma City were expected
to reach highs of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (above 38 degrees Celsius)
for at least the next five days.

A heat emergency is in effect for cities up and down the northeast coast,
from Boston to Philadelphia to Washington.

Not even the usually cool Pacific Northwest will escape the far-reaching
heat, with the region expected to face several days in the 90s next week.

The high temperatures have already caused an uptick in emergency calls for
heat-related illnesses.

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.

"This is really one of the things that we recognize in Oklahoma -- heat is
the number one weather-related killer across the United States. It far
surpasses any other" nature-related cause of death, Joseph Kralicek, director
of the Tulsa Area Emergency Management Agency, told CNN.

Residents of the central US city were expecting temperatures to reach 103F
(39C) Saturday and up to 106F (41C) on Sunday and Monday.

The nation's capital Washington reached temperatures near 100F (38C) on
Saturday, and was expected to reach or surpass that level on Sunday for the
first time in years.

New York was not far behind.

"Look for daytime max temps to eclipse the century mark in the Central Plains
and record breaking high temps from the Central Plains to the Northeast
today," the NWS said in a forecast.

"Sunday grows even hotter in the northeast," it added.

Severe thunderstorms are expected in the Midwest Saturday, with the potential
for damaging winds, large hail and tornadoes, the NWS said.

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.