J064-FRANCIA INCENDIOS

Locals on Thursday (August 7) gave a hand to firefighters battling France's largest wildfire in decades, which has torn through 16,000 hectares of forest and villages in the country's south.

Xavier Guille, the owner of a vineyard and pine forests burned by the blaze, stood on land covered in ash asking firefighters hosing water if they needed help.

"We have been fighting, since last night when the winds calmed down," Guille said, panting. "We're at war, but also, we will win the war."

France's biggest wildfire in nearly eight decades has killed one person and destroyed dozens of houses. Plumes of smoke rose over the forest area in the Aude region.

Drone footage showed swathes of charred earth after the fire swept across an area one-and-a-half times the size of Paris.

The blaze, around 100 km (60 miles) from the border with Spain has spread unusually rapidly, fanned by strong winds and very dry vegetation, following months of drought in the area.

It is now advancing more slowly but is still not under control, officials said.

"Never in my life (have I seen this), not fires like this," 77-year-old retiree Simon Gomez said, looking out over a burnt field.

Officials said an investigation was underway to find out what caused the blaze.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE, FRANCE (AUGUST 7, 2025) (SECURITE CIVILE - Must on-screen courtesy "Securite Civile")

1. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS STANDING WITH HOSES IN FRONT OF FLAMES

2. FIELD, SMOKE AND FIREFIGHTERS IN DISTANCE

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE, FRANCER (AUGUST 7, 2025) (REUTERS - Access all)

3. FIREFIGHTERS SPRAYING WATER ONTO BURNT GROUND, SMOKE RISING

4. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS HOSING WATER

5. BURNT TREES, SMOKE

6. FIREFIGHTERS IN BURNT FOREST

7. FIREFIGHTERS, ONE SPRAYING FIRE EXTINGUISHING CHEMICAL

8. VARIOUS OF OWNER OF VINEYARD AND LAND BURNT BY WILDFIRE, XAVIER GUILLE, WALKING UP FOREST WITH FIREFIGHTER

9. VARIOUS OF GUILLE STANDING IN BURNT FOREST, ASKING FIREFIGHTERS IF THEY NEED HELP

10. (SOUNDBITE) (French) OWNER OF VINEYARD AND LAND BURNT BY WILDFIRE, XAVIER GUILLE, WHO IS HELPING FIREFIGHTERS EXTINGUISH FIRE, SAYING:

"Since last night when the winds calmed down, we have been fighting the fire that has returned to our pine forests with our neighbours from the neighbouring vineyard, whose pine forests were a lot more affected. Ours is a smaller one. We have extraordinary firefighter teams. We're at war, but also, we will win the war."

11. GUILLE ON PHONE, STANDING AT BURNT FOREST

12. (SOUNDBITE) (French) OWNER OF VINEYARD AND LAND BURNT BY WILDFIRE, XAVIER GUILLE, WHO IS HELPING FIREFIGHTERS EXTINGUISH FIRE, SAYING:

"Personally, I just lost forests, the vineyard and equipment were spared. My in-laws lost their home in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Cabrerisse, it was one of the first homes that burned, and their neighbour died because she stayed in her home."

13. VARIOUS OF FIREFIGHTERS SPRAYING WATER

14. FIREFIGHTER WALKING IN FOREST

15. WATER BEING SPRAYED ONTO BURNT GROUND

16. VARIOUS OF 77-YEAR-OLD RETIREE, SIMON GOMEZ, LOOKING AT BURNT FIELD, ARMY HELICOPTER IN DISTANCE

17. (SOUNDBITE) (French) 77-YEAR-OLD RETIREE, SIMON GOMEZ, SAYING:

"No, never in my life (have I seen this), not fires like this. There had been fires in Narbonne, all that, but not like this. This has burned a lot, I'm not sure how much has burned, if it's not more than 10,000 hectares, I don't know."

18. FIRE TRUCKS DRIVING BY

19. VARIOUS OF HOME DAMAGED BY FIRE

20. (SOUNDBITE) (French) 77-YEAR-OLD RETIREE, SIMON GOMEZ, SAYING:

"It's all burnt over there, it's a disaster, yes."

JOURNALIST ASKING (French): "How do you feel, pain?"

GOMEZ: "Yes, it's very hard for the person who died and those injured, voila."

21. FLAMES SEEN THROUGH TREES

22. VARIOUS OF HELICOPTER DROPPING WATER ON FIRE

23. SMOKE SEEN THROUGH TREES

24. VARIOUS OF UNBURNT GRAPE VINES, SMOKE AND FIRE TRUCK NEARBY

SAINT-LAURENT-DE-LA-CABRERISSE, FRANCE (AUGUST 7, 2025) (SECURITE CIVILE - Must on-screen courtesy "Securite Civile")

25. FIREFIGHTER VEHICLE, SMOKE IN DISTANCE