VILLEFORT (48) 02.07.2015

On Thursday 2 July 2015 at 22:30, several people in Villefort (48) saw an orange ball move slowly and silently north to south, disappearing behind cloud. Only 1 account was collected. GEIPAN considers a fire-like ball floating slowly on a seemingly random path suggestive of a burning windborne object, such as a sky lantern. Infoclimat recorded light westerly wind at Le Mas-de-la-Barque, 5 km away; Météociel recorded weak variable wind at Mende, 35 km away. Together with the relatively steep-sided valley location, these data do not establish the actual local wind at low altitude, which can be complex in mountainous terrain. A lantern remains consistent with the account but cannot be confirmed. GEIPAN also considered a plasma-type phenomenon, but there was no storm or seismic context. The case is classified C: insufficient corroboration.