An American tourist who witnessed Monday's catastrophic fire at Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris recalled late Monday that the smoke from the blaze initially resembled a chimney fire before turning an ominous shade of dark black as flames spread and devoured the interior of the centuries-old sanctuary. "Initially, it [the smoke] looked like it was coming from behind the building." SHOCKING PHOTOS: NOTRE DAME CATHEDRAL CATCHES FIREThe Almacys had been in line to enter Notre Dame earlier in the day but opted to postpone their visit when the time slots for guided tours of the building filled up. The situation became more serious at around 7:30 p.m. when Almacy described seeing "flames shooting out" of the building as "the smoke turned orange, then green, then dark black." "This building took 200 years to build and it was destroyed by fire in less than two hours," Almacy said Monday evening.

Source: Fox News April 15, 2019 21:45 UTC