Le Bras Freres (The Bras Brothers) has confirmed that some of its employees had ignored the ban and had been smoking onsite. Investigators found the remains of a handful of cigarettes inside the burned-out interior of the building. Still, the company denied that any discarded cigarettes could have started the fire that destroyed the famed cathedral's spire and damaged its room and some of its interior.

As well, the likelihood of heavy rains in the skies over Paris in the next few days have spurred the repair crew into action, proceeding with plans to erect a giant tarp over the large holes in the roof caused by the fire. Professional mountain climbers were expected to place the tarp, which is meant to function as a temporary umbrella until workers repair the holes in the roof.

More than 400 firefighters battled the blaze for nine hours in order to bring it under control and save the rest of the 850-year-old cathedral. No one died in the fire; a few people were injured. Most of the remainder of the building was intact, officials later reported. Firefighters did save nearly all of the treasured art works inside the building, and those are now in the Louvre for safekeeping.

Also intact were the cathedral's iconic beehives. The three wooden hives house more than 180,000 bees in total. Officials said that the bees survived because the carbon dioxide from the smoke put them to sleep.

Investigators are still being denied access into the cathedral because fire officials still consider it unsafe. However, the investigators stressed that they were still considering the fire an accident and that one likely cause was an electrical short circuit.

One thing that the fire did illustrate was the faulty nature of fire prevention safeguards inside and outside. The attic did not have electrical wiring because the builders wanted to protect the wooden support beams in the ceiling. Also missing, again at the discretion of the builders, were firewalls and sprinkler systems.

Almost immediately, people began donating money to help with a planned reconstruction of the building. Donations have topped 1 billion euros. French President Emmanuel Macron pledged that the rebuild would take just five years and announced an international competition to design the new spire.

The cathedral is expected to be closed for years. The surrounding streets have been opened, however, and restaurants, tourist shops, and other businesses on those streets are humming again.