Family who is in paris... they were less than a mile away from the cathedral as it burned... kody... how does that family describe the atmosphere in paris?

The moore family will be flying back to huntsville tomorrow night... and arriving here at the huntsville airport.

But right now... over four thousand miles away... they were witness to an event that will go down in history... the moores had just visited notre dame on saturday... two days before this devastating fire... they told me they were on their way to dinner when they saw the smoke... at first... they didn't know what was happening... mitchell moore/lives in huntsville and visiting paris "we were kind of hoping that it wasn't terrorism and wondering whether it was just a regular fire."

The associated press reports french officials have ruled out terrorism and arson... and will investigate to determine the cause... nats: during my phone with moore, you could hear sirens... mitchell moore/lives in huntsville and visiting paris "ambulances and police cars headed that direction."

As the sun set... hundreds upon hundreds of people came to watch the iconic building burn... this is a picture they sent me near pont saint - michel... which is a bridge close to the cathedral..

Mitchell moore/lives in huntsville and visiting paris "not just tourists, but locals as well."

More sent me this cell phone video of people singing... nats: mitchell moore/lives in huntsville and visiting paris "there's a lot of people that are upset."

Moore says seeing a country lose so much history in one day is the saddest part... mitchell moore/lives in huntsville and visiting paris "to see it burn is truly a tragedy."

Fire crews in paris were able to save priceless works of art and historical artifacts from inside the cathedral... reporting live in huntsville...