There is no word yet on the fate of the 18,000 bees that lived in hives atop Notre Dame Cathedral since a fire destroyed much of the roof, according to NBC News. Beekeeper Nicolas Géant, who has kept the bees in hives on the roof of the sacristy since 2012, has seen that the hives are still intact in aerial surveillance photos but he has not been allowed by firefighters to check on them. Bees have long been part of Notre Dame’s storied history, and the wax they produce was historically used to make candles for church services. “If you look at the photos from the sky, you see that everything is burnt, there are holes in the roof, but you can still see the three beehives,” Géant told NBC News on Wednesday. “The policemen and firemen won’t let me go up there.”