Amateur video on posted online on Sunday (July 5) showed smoke rising near buildings in southwestern France from a wildfire that later forced the evacuation of over 10,000 people from two dozen small towns and ‌villages near the Spanish border.

The location where the video was filmed was verified as the town of Ille-sur-Tet by the buildings, vegetation and fence, which matched satellite and archive imagery. The date when the video was filmed was verified by original file metadata.

Officials said strong winds on Monday (July 6) would further fan the blaze. The European Union said it was sending four waterbombing aircraft to France from Cyprus and Sweden to help firefighters around the city of Perpignan.

The ⁠fire has scorched some 4,600 hectares in the foothills of the French Pyrenees, local prefect Pierre Regnault de la Mothe said in a post on X.

Early summer heatwaves in France and across western Europe in May and June have dried out vast areas of land, making them particularly vulnerable to wildfires this year.

DESCRIPCIÓN DE IMÁGENES

Eyewitness video shows clouds of smoke, firefighting aircraft near French wildfire near Ille-sur-Tet. Video credit: @lesarcanesdethemis/Instagram

VIDEO SHOWS: VIEW OF SMOKE FROM WILDFIRE IN SOUTH-WEST FRANCE

USER-GENERATED CONTENT VERIFIED BY:

- Buildings, vegetation and fence matched satellite and archive imagery

- Date verified by original file metadata

RESENDING WITH COMPLETE SCRIPT

SHOWS: ILLE-SUR-TET, FRANCE (JULY 5, 2026) (@LESARCANESDETHEMIS/INSTAGRAM - No archive / no resales / Must on-screen courtesy @lesarcanesdethemis/Instagram)

1. VIEW OF A FIELD AND BUILDINGS WITH CLOUDS OF SMOKE RISING IN THE BACKGROUND, PERSON SAYING OFF CAMERA (French): "WE CAN SEE A DASH ARRIVING"

2. A DASH FIREFIGHTING AIRCRAFT ARRIVING AND FLYING THROUGH THE CLOUDS OF SMOKE, PERSON SAYING OFF CAMERA (French): "WE CAN HEAR EXPLOSIONS, I DON'T KNOW WHAT IT IS"

3. SMOKE RISING BEHIND THE BUILDINGS, PERSON SAYING OFF CAMERA (French): "IT IS A BIT APOCALYPTIC, VERY APOCALYPTIC, WE CAN HEAR EXPLOSIONS, I DON'T KNOW IF THINGS ARE EXPLODING, LIKE CANISTERS OF SOME SORT"

4. DASH FIREFIGHTER AIRCRAFT FLYING OVER THE SMOKE AND ABOVE THE BUILDINGS, PERSON SAYING OFF CAMERA (French): "YOU'RE GOING TO SEE THE DROP I THINK... OR NOT"

5. VARIOUS OF BLACK SMOKE RISING FROM BEHIND THE BUILDING, PERSON SAYING OFF CAMERA (French): "IT'S BURNING BLACK"