Fire tears through historic Saint-Ours church

A lightning strike sparked a major fire that destroyed a historic church in Saint-Ours, Que., leaving the community grieving the loss of a cherished landmark.

A major fire ravaged a heritage church in Saint-Ours, about 75 kilometres east of Montreal, early Thursday evening.

The fire was still burning on Friday morning, according to assistant fire chief Sylvain Forget.

In a Facebook post Thursday, the town of Saint-Ours, in the Montérégie region, said emergency crews were quickly dispatched to Église de l’Immaculée-Conception, which opened in 1882.

“It is with deep sadness that the Town of Saint-Ours confirms that a major fire is currently raging at the heritage church in Saint-Ours, an iconic architectural gem and a spiritual and cultural gathering place for our community,” the town said in the post.

Witnesses said lightning struck the church around 7 p.m. By the time firefighters arrived, the building was already engulfed in flames.

Officials said firefighters were being assisted by crews from Sorel-Tracy, Saint-Denis-sur-Richelieu, Saint-Roch-de-Richelieu and the Régie intermunicipale de sécurité incendie Louis-Aimé-Massue.

“This is an extremely painful moment for our citizens. The Saint-Ours church represents an important part of our history, the hallmark of our community and our collective identity. We are deeply grateful to all the firefighters who are joining forces to protect this symbol of our heritage,’ said Mayor Sylvain Dupuis.

Renée Anne Arsenault, who lives next door to the church, said she still can’t believe it’s gone.

“When I go to bed at night, I look through the window and I see the church and I fall asleep. Was pretty hard last night,” she said in an interview on Friday.