Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — PICS

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April 15, 2019 1:55PM EDT

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — The famed Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, tragically caught fire on April 15, 2019, burning for hours as firefighters struggled to contain the flames. It’s suspected that the blaze was an accident, and started at the church’s spire; the cathedral, including the spire, was under renovation at the time of the fire as the stone facade had started to crumble. It was feared that the 850-year-old cathedral, which took 200 years to finish building, was in danger of collapse. After about an hour, the spire collapsed into itself and hurtled into the roof of the cathedral. After three hours, most of the cathedral was gone, and firefighters focused on trying to save the priceless artwork and religious relics stored inside from the “colossal damage,” as the Paris deputy mayor put it. Some artwork had already been removed from the cathedral during the renovation, thankfully.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Fire burns behind Notre Dame’s famed, stained glass windows in an eerie scene out of Paris. The fire continued to burn hours after it broke out, completely filling the cathedral with flames.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — A firefighter climbs to the roof of the cathedral in a crane to spray the burning building with a hose. It’s clear at this point that first responders are fighting a losing battle.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Firefighters work to put out the flames within Notre Dame. At this point, the insides of the cathedral are gone, and only the stone skeleton remains.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and his wife Brigitte Macron (R) pay a visit to firemen fighting against a fire burning the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, France, 15 April 2019. A fire started in the late afternoon in one of the most visited monuments of the French capital.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Firefighters spray water onto the facade of Notre Dame cathedral to stop the spread of a fire in Paris, . 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.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Flames and smoke rise as the spire of Notre Dame cathedral collapses in 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.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — French President Emmanuel Macron (C) speaks with firemen as they fight against a fire burning the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral in Paris, France, 15 April 2019. A fire started in the late afternoon in one of the most visited monuments of the French capital.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — The flames burning the roof of the Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, 15 April 2019. A fire started in the late afternoon in one of the most visited monuments of the French capital.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Mourners gather as Paris’ historic cathedral ravaged by major blaze.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Flames rise from Notre Dame cathedral as it burns in Paris.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Flames rise from Notre Dame cathedral as it burns.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Thousands gather on the banks of the Seine River to watch the fire at Notre Dame after the sun went down.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Firefighters flooded the streets outside of Notre Dame, using all their power and resources to attempt to save the historic landmark.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Another shot of people taking in the horrifying fire from the streets of Paris. A woman hugs a man tight in an emotional moment.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — The fire at Notre Dame broke out in the late afternoon on April 15, and looked as if it could be controlled at first. Though the fire was huge, it was contained to one part of the cathedral.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — A look at the fire burning uncontrollably at Notre Dame from a rooftop in Paris. Plumes of smoke could be seen from every part of the city.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — As night fell in Paris, the fire at Notre Dame continued to grow into a massive inferno. The church’s scaffolding was molten, and the already fragile facade crumbled to dust.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — It’s suspected that the fire started in the cathedral’s spire. The spire, glowing red with flames, eventually collapsed, sending 750 tons of metal and stone through the burning roof of the church.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — People gathered to watch Notre Dame burning from the streets below. They were gasping and yelling as the spire went down. Those closer to the fire were covered in ash.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — A police car is spotted racing toward the fire at Notre Dame as someone looks on from inside a nearby cafe.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — A fireball bursts through the roof of the cathedral as the spire continues to burn. The plume of brown smoke rising from the ruins could be seen for miles.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Thousands of people were reportedly in the streets near Notre Dame to watch the situation unfold.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — The fire can be seen through the scaffolding on the cathedral as it burns. Ash is falling on people in the streets below.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — A massic plume of brown smoke flew from the air above the cathedral, as clouds of ash fell on the people in the streets below.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — A harrowing shot of the incident shows the side of the Cathedral that hadn’t been engulfed in flames.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Flames on the roof of the cathedral burst through the scaffolding, where workers were doing contruction and restoration earlier.

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Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire

Notre Dame Cathedral On Fire — Eventually, the fire started collapsing some of the higher parts of the cathedral. One of its spires burned.

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