The bees of Notre Dame survived: 'It's a miracle!'

The three beehives that inhabit Notre Dame remain abuzz after this week's devastating fire that sent much of the famous cathedral up in flames.

The hives were untouched by the blaze, CNN reports, since they are located nearly 30 meters below the roof where the fire spread. Each hive houses around 60,000 bees.

Had the beehives been closer to the fire and reached higher temperatures, the bees would likely have died due to melting wax, beekeeper Nicolas Geant told CNN. But because bees don't have human-like lungs, the smoke itself was not enough to cause them to perish, says Geant.

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

Geant told CNN he couldn't confirm with absolute certainty if all the bees had survived, but he's optimistic since the hives themselves did not burn and bees have been seen flying in and out.

"I was incredibly sad about Notre Dame because it's such a beautiful building, and as a Catholic it means a lot to me. But to hear there is life when it comes to the bees, that's just wonderful. I was overjoyed," Geant said. "Thank goodness the flames didn't touch them. It's a miracle!"