Massive fire at Notre-Dame cathedral

In the light of the tragedy of the massive fire at Notre-Dame cathedral and after the destruction of more than two thirds of its framing, pledges are being multiplied in France and around the world. Less than one day after the fire, pledges already reach hundreds of millions of euros.

The scale of the disaster has led Sylvain Charlois to propose a donation of oak logs to participate in reconstructing the framing.

The construction of the framing of Notre-Dame during the 12^th and the 13^th centuries required more than 1300 oak trees. Georges Lambert, honorary research fellow at the CNRS and expert in dendrochronology, indicates that the framing is built with several entire oak trunks originating from dense and pretty young forests and with massive cross beams. The biggest pieces of wood measuring between 40- and 50-centimeters diameter. The expert affirms that the wood average age is around 100 years old, excepting a few older pieces. Thus, the problem could be the length of the trees more than its diameter because some framing pieces have been cut in trunks measuring more than 15 meters length.

Sylvain Charlois indicates that it will take several years to purchase such an oak trees stock without adversely impacting the wood sector and at the same time respecting the forestry production. Groupe Charlois decided to start to purchase this stock as of now. This initiative now awaits approval by the authorities responsible for Notre-Dame de Paris.

Picture : http://www.notredamedeparis.fr/la-cathedrale/architecture/la-charpente/