Various news outlets are reporting that the historic Notre Dame Cathedral of Paris is on fire. Pictures circulated online show a tremendous and uncontrolled blaze in the transept of the building. The steeple collapsed just few minutes ago.
Many Catholic churches have been damaged by fire throughout the past few months in France. This fire however appears to have been caused by renovation work happening at the cathedral. For many years now Notre Dame has been raising money for much needed renovations. Scaffolding is visible in the midst of the blaze.
The police reports there are no deaths nor injuries associated with the fire.
This is a tremendous upset for Western civilization in general.
UPDATE:
As night falls this picture showing Notre Dame from above has emerged. As devastating as this fire has been, it looks as if the stone vault over the cathedral has held. These churches have wooden roofs which burn quickly, but a stone vault separates the roof from the church. In this picture you can see the wood burning on top of the vault. Hopefully this means that damage to the interior of the church has been limited.
A few pictures from the interior are starting to be shared in social media showing minimum damage to the interior. The pictures reveal damage at the crossing of the cathedral, likely from when the steeple collapsed. The force of the steeple coming down must have damaged the vault.
Picture from public domain
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