Eiffel Tower on Fire???

I heard it on the radio, and it’s on CNN, but I can’t find a link.

Please, don’t let it be terrorism.

I haven’t been able to find anything apart from the CNN non-link headline. Since I’m at home, I flipped the television to CNN, but it’s a commercial at the moment. (As it came off the commercial, they’re talking about Jessica Lynch.)
http://www.abcparislive.com/ is supposed to have a webcam, but I can’t seem to get a decent connection today and don’t want to try it.

[url-“http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20030722/ap_on_re_eu/france_eiffel_tower”]link to the AP story.

There is nothing to that effect on cnn.com, and the webcam shows the tower in a cloudy sky.

This report from French TV channel TF1 claims that a small fire has been discovered and the tower has been evacuated as a precaution.

No explanation of the cause is forthcoming as yet.

From the BBC.

The Toronto Star.

Updated CNN link

The French report has a little more detail and says it’s a short-circuit in some electrical equipment, on a level not used by tourists.

They’re obviously keeping that story as up to date as they can – I only posted 10 mins before you and there was no mention of a short circuit when I read it. At least if it’s an electrical fire they should be able to put it out with stuff they can take up the tower easily enough.

Contrary to popular belief, the Eiffel Tower is not made of Eiffels.

It looks like the fire is out.

Okay, so I feel like Chicken Little.

Carry on, folks.

Fire is out (CBC)

Well thank goodness. :stuck_out_tongue:

You funny Zen. :stuck_out_tongue:

To put in a plug for one of my favorite historical figures:

The iron tower was designed by civil engineer Gustav Eiffel and constructed by his Eiffel Company. The work began in January of 1887 and the tower was completed in March of 1889.

Eiffel was a rather colorful figure who never married his live-in love (IIRC) and continued working until the age of 88.
[sub]ok I’ll shut up now[/sub]

I presume everybody already knows the other really, really famous landmark Gustav had a hand in?

…and also designed the armature for the Statue of Liberty.

Hey, get out of my head matt ;).

You mean she’s packing heat under that dress?

Rumor has it that Bartholdi couldn’t even figure out how to make a scale model of Liberty stand up.

So he engaged Eiffel to design the interior “skeleton”.