Massive fire engulfs beloved Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris

Apr 16, 20190

Michel Euler – Associated Press count

Gallery: Massive plumes of yellow brown smoke filled the air above Notre Dame Cathedral and ash fell on tourists and others around the island that marks the center of Paris.

Associated Press count

Gallery: Massive plumes of yellow brown smoke is filling the air above Notre Dame Cathedral and ash is falling on tourists and others around the island that marks the center of Paris.

PARIS - A catastrophic fire engulfed the upper reaches of Paris' soaring Notre Dame Cathedral as it was undergoing renovations Monday, threatening one of the greatest architectural treasures of the Western world as tourists and Parisians looked on aghast from the streets below.

The blaze collapsed the cathedral's spire and spread to one of its landmark rectangular towers, but Paris fire chief Jean-Claude Gallet said the church's structure had been saved after firefighters managed to stop the fire spreading to the northern belfry. The 12th-century cathedral is home to incalculable works of art and is one of the world's most famous tourist attractions, immortalized by Victor Hugo's 1831 novel "The Hunchback of Notre Dame."

http://www.startribune.com/fire-breaks-out-at-top-of-notre-dame-cathedral-in-paris/508599672/