Notre Dame Found Structurally Sound After Blaze, Say Officials

Flames and smoke are seen as the interior of the Notre-Dame Cathedral continued to burn on April 15, 2019. Philippe Wojazer/AFP/Getty Images

As the fire that ravaged Notre Dame was extinguished, French officials revealed that the structure of the 850-year-old Parisian cathedral is sound.

The fire destroyed the wood-and-lead roof and destroyed a spire, which was captured via numerous social media videos. Following an inspection on April 16, three “holes” were spotted in the vaulted ceiling, reported the New York Times.

Meanwhile, photos shot from inside the center of the cathedral showed that the damage wasn’t as severe as previously thought.

Smoke billows as flames burn through the roof of the Notre-Dame de Paris Cathedral in Paris, on April 15, 2019. Fabien Barrau/AFP/Getty Images

Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo stated to Le Monde that there was “a big hole in the roof.”

“The altar and its cross are preserved. It’s not as bad as I feared,” she added, as reported by the New York Post.

Paris prosecutor Remy Heitz said that nothing suggests the fire was deliberate, reported the Times, adding that it would be a “complex investigation.”

“Nothing at this stage suggests a voluntary act,” he continued.

Meanwhile, another official, Valerie Pecresse, told ABC News: “When you see it from the outside, it’s still standing, and that is quite a miracle.” Pecresse said it is a testament to firefighters battling the blaze throughout the night.

Still, watching the blaze tear through the building was “like tearing our hearts apart because the cathedral is the heart of Paris,” the official told ABC. “It’s like when your home is burning and the whole people of France was crying and the cries had no color, no name, no race, no parties, but the whole of France was really upset,” she continued.

The fire broke out at around 6:50 p.m. local time on April 15 and spread along the cathedral’s roof. At the time, it was undergoing a $170 million renovation project.

Smoke rises in front of the altar cross at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris, France, on April 15, 2019. Philippe Wojazer/AFP/Getty Images

Paris Deputy Mayor Emmanuel Gregoire noted that officials experienced an “enormous relief” when the purported Crown of Christ and other religious relics were salvaged, reported The Associated Press.

Some were taken to a “secret location” following the fire. Some statues, which were removed days before, were also spared, he said.

Vow to Rebuild

President Emmanuel Macron promised to rebuild Notre-Dame, considered among the finest examples of European Gothic architecture, visited by more than 13 million people a year, Reuters reported.

Notre-Dame is owned by the state. It has been at the center of a years-long row between the nation and the Paris archdiocese over who should finance badly needed restoration work to collapsed balustrades, crumbling gargoyles, and cracked facades.

Flames burn the roof of the landmark Notre-Dame Cathedral in central Paris on April 15, 2019, potentially involving renovation works being carried out at the site, the fire service said.  Francois Guillot/AFP/Getty Images

It was too early to estimate the cost of the damage, said the heritage charity Fondation du Patrimoine, but it is likely to run into the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The rival billionaire owners of France’s two biggest luxury fashion empires, Francois-Henri Pinault of Kering and Bernard Arnault of LVMH, pledged 100 million euros and 200 million euros to the restoration respectively. Oil company Total pledged 100 million. The city of Paris said it would provide 50 million.

Reuters contributed to this report.