Some residents have returned to devastated neighborhoods in eastern Washington state to find their homes leveled by wildfires that erupted across a parched landscape over the weekend. Yards have been covered in charred debris and in some cases only chimneys remained standing. The fires in and around Spokane, the state’s second-largest city, filled the sky with smoke and haze. Better firefighting weather arrived Monday, though it's expected to be hot and dry again by midweek. About 700 buildings have been destroyed — a number that was expected to rise — and some 67,000 people are under evacuation orders. No deaths have been reported. The fires are among dozens that are straining firefighting resources across the Western U.S.

Europe is grappling with a record-breaking hot and dry summer. Water-dropping planes on Monday tackled a major wildfire in Greece while firefighters in France worked to stabilize a blaze in Provence. The United Kingdom recorded its driest July in nearly two centuries. Strong winds returned in Greece, pushing flames into mountain home clusters, destroying farms and property, and closing a highway. In France, firefighters guarded against flare-ups near Bordeaux. The U.K. weather service reported a prolonged heat wave and lack of rainfall. Europe is the fastest-warming continent, with rising temperatures and droughts making wildfires more intense.

Authorities say wildfires in eastern Washington state forced the evacuation of 60,000 people in the Spokane area, including patients at its U.S. Veterans Affairs hospital, while destroying at least 600 homes, businesses and other structures. The fires have burned more than 8.2 square miles around Spokane, the second largest city in Washington, and officials said Sunday that 390 square miles have burned across the state. They've been among dozens of fires across the Western U.S. No deaths have yet been reported from the fires in the Spokane area. Meanwhile, crews were in their 10th day of fighting a fire that has burned nearly 525 square miles in western Idaho and eastern Oregon.

Greece’s fire department says the collision of two firefighting helicopters battling a major wildfire burning out of control west of Athens left two crew members dead, while another two were recovered alive. The fire department said on Sunday the dead crew members were one Greek and one Danish national, while the two who were recovered alive were one Greek and one British national. Foreign firefighting and helicopter crews are often deployed in Greece to help tackle wildfires during the country’s hot, dry summers. The collision laid bare the danger at the most volatile front of Europe’s wildfire emergency.

Dangerous heat has hit parts of the Western U.S. this weekend, prompting warnings for people to stay inside and heightening wildfire risks in many areas. A high-pressure ridge has been holding heat close to the ground from Arizona to Montana. Meteorologists say the good news is that it will be relatively short-lived. The National Weather Service forecast high temps in a variety of cities Saturday. By late afternoon, Las Vegas reached 115 degrees Fahrenheit. That is the highest temperature of the year.

Two new studies reveal climate change's fingerprints over extreme fire weather-triggering infernos in Spain and France. Researchers at World Weather Attribution found human-caused climate change made Spain's record fire 20 times more likely and doubled the chances of extreme fire conditions in France. Another study shows extreme fire-prone days in Southern Europe have more than doubled compared to decades ago. Experts emphasize that climate change is already impacting fire severity and stress the need to stop burning fossil fuels.

Experts say the world is experiencing two opposing fire trends because of human impact. Wildfires in Europe, Canada and the U.S. are high, and flirting with record levels in Europe. In North America, land burned this summer is at least 25% higher than the 10-year average. Meanwhile, global fire emissions hit a record low in July, thanks to reduced fires in Africa and Asia. Fires are decreasing because of changing agricultural practices, fire management and where people live. Still, scientists say climate change is making fires more extreme. Experts warn that El Niño could worsen fires in the tropics in coming months.