A spokesperson for the Notre Dame Cathedral said Monday that the entire wooden interior of the building is on fire and will likely be destroyed, according to multiple outlets.
“Everything is burning, nothing will remain from the frame,” said spokesman André Finot, according to The Associated Press, Bloomberg News and CBC.
{mosads}The blaze broke out at the Paris landmark earlier Monday, and has already caused the building’s iconic spire to collapse.
First responders are now mobilizing to salvage the art and other priceless pieces stored in the cathedral, according to the AP.
A reporter from The Associated Press on the scene said that the fire has now spread to one of the church’s landmark rectangular towers.
Paris Mayor Anne Hidalgo described the fire as “terrible.”
“A terrible fire is underway at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris,” she tweeted. “The fire brigade are trying to control the fire.”
“We are mobilized locally in close connection with church authorities. I ask everyone to respect the security perimeter.”
French President Emmanuel Macron also expressed sadness over the fire.
“Notre Dame of Paris in flames. Emotion for a whole nation. Thoughts for all Catholics and for all French. Like all our countrymen, I’m sad tonight to see this part of us burn,” he tweeted.
Police are currently treating the blaze as an accident, according to local media reports. The Paris prosecutor has reportedly opened an investigation into the fire. The blaze is thought to be potentially tied to renovations underway at the historic building, much of which is under scaffolding, fire officials said.
–Updated 3:22 p.m.