Notre-Dame, one of the world's most iconic tourist destinations, erupted in flames on Monday in Paris. City police posted on Twitter urging people to avoid the area.
Video of the incident shows flames billowing through the roof and windows of the cathedral. No information has been released as to what started the fire, but according to the BBC, officials believe that it's tied to renovations that have been ongoing at the cathedral.
Renovations were announced in 2017 which called for a mix of urgent repairs for structural work and cleaning the structure's facade. The Friends of Notre-Dame estimated the urgent repairs to be around $40 million, while they planned to fundraise a total of $110 million over the next ten years.
Notre-Dame, which dates back to the 12th century, welcomes an estimated 13 million people annually, equating to about 30,000 people per day, according to The New York Times.
Firefights are still at the scene working to put out the flames.
A spokesman for the cathedral said the whole structure was "burning," according to BBC. "There will be nothing left," he said. "It remains to be seen whether the vault, which protects the cathedral, will be affected or not."
