Hotel Lambert: the aftermath

Everyone must know by now that the Hotel Lambert (that storied Hotel Particulier at the tip of the Ile St Louis in Paris) was heavily damaged by fire on July 10th, 2013.

I had just left a month previously, having stayed a block away as usual on the Ile St Louis, but friends were staying in another apartment nearby and happened to be there for the dreaded fire. They sent me these images of the excitement and devastation shown here.

The fire started at the very end of a long renovation in the roof above the storied Galerie d'Hercule, seen above.

Crews battled the fire for days; sometimes these heroes do more damage than good but the fire had to be fought!

The Ile St Louis was overrun by hundreds of firefighters and trucks; this may not sound like much but the Island is tiny and could easily fit into a modern American city block.

Confused and dismayed tourists still roamed the island amid all of the excitement. Notice the trucks and ladders at the end of the street above.

The true aftermath and damage of the fire hasn't been shared publicly yet but these images are disturbing to say the least.  Fingers crossed and hopefully we all will know soon enough the fate of the Hotel Lambert.