Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris is burning.

[Sylvain]

I’ve been driving from the Cleveland area back to Indianapolis as this all happened. I just stopped to view some of the images. Almost incomprehensible.

And now Parisians watch helplessly to see if their own twin towers will fall... I heard the bells inside weigh up to 20 tons each, the same bells which rang for the victims of 9/11.

The whole thing is almost surreal.

Those bells are made mostly of bronze, that's several tons of melting metal if the fire gets hot enough to melt them.
This and the over 250 tons of lead that covered the roof is a big risk to firefighters.
They still went inside to rescue art work.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

Notre-Dame's main structure is "saved and preserved" after fire, says Paris fire official

 

[Sylvain]

Not much left besides the exterior walls.

 

[Dead Duck]

That looks to be completely gutted.

 

[hoosierdoc]

I mean it’s made of Stone. Frankly i’m Surprised it burned as much as it did. Glad it can/will be rebuilt

 

[Southbendfamily]

i just don't see this contractor being paid out on this contract.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

 

[ArcadiaGP]

 

[Sylvain]

I mean it’s made of Stone. Frankly i’m Surprised it burned as much as it did. Glad it can/will be rebuilt

The roof contained over 500 tons of wood.
Even the towers have large wooden structures to support the heavy bells.Only the walls are made of stone.

The wooden frame was nightnamed "the forest".

 

[HoughMade]

...Glad it can/will be rebuilt

We’ll have to see about that. Anything can​ be done, but....

 

[Dead Duck]

Don't worry.
Trump will make sure it's done right....



















.....oh ...wait....











Sorry... I forgot where that was.

R.I.P. Notre Dame

 

[hoosierdoc]

Now they can put in proper duct work and Cat23e cable

I’d like to see the Pope use this as an example that religion is not a building and earthly possessions don’t matter. The church is the people, who gather in a building. If the building is destroyed, the church is not

has he said anything about it officially?

 

[cce1302]

Bummer. Hugo will have to write another epilogue. Great book, btw. I read it earlier this year.

 

[GREEN607]

I mean it’s made of Stone. Frankly i’m Surprised it burned as much as it did. Glad it can/will be rebuilt

But will it ever really look like this again???

 

[PistolBob]

I mean it’s made of Stone. Frankly i’m Surprised it burned as much as it did. Glad it can/will be rebuilt

The cathedral is mostly wood. 52 acres of Oak trees were used to build the structure beginning in 1163. So a crapload of 850 year old oak is burning.

 

[ArcadiaGP]

We’ll have to see about that. Anything can​ be done, but....

A French billionaire has pledged 100M toward it's rebuilding.

Also... the entirety of the interior and exterior was captured with laser scanners. Not sure how well that translates in an architectural sense..

https://www.wired.com/story/the-not...ture-of-history/amp?__twitter_impression=true

 

[Sylvain]

But will it ever really look like this again???

It still looks like that now, minus the spire in between the two towers.
It's mostly just the roof that's gone.

 

[chipbennett]

I'm not a Catholic, and I know that (most likely) the fire was accidental and related to the renovations as reported, but there's a little part of me that can't help but feel like it's something out of a Dan Brown novel. Seeing the spire fall, just seemed... I dunno... ominous somehow.

I know what you mean. I'm just finishing a re-read of Origins (because I was in Barcelona last month), and while I've never seen or visited Notre Dame, I'm comparing to the awe I experienced at la Sagrada Familia. I can't even imagine the heartbreak...

 

[Sigblitz]

It still looks like that now, minus the spire in between the two towers.
It's mostly just the roof that's gone.

The roof can be rebuilt. My childhood church in Jasper had some needed renovation. It's a tragic loss but it can be done again.

 

[Mark 1911]

So very sad. Hope they can fix it. Hope it was an accident.