'Eternal Flame' Hall Burns Down

An "eternal flame" in Japan lived up to its name this week, surviving after firefighters extinguished a blaze that destroyed the building that housed it. Reikado Hall, a Buddhist site near the summit of Mount Misen on Miyajima island, burned on Wednesday, leaving only its charred frame—but the flame, said to have burned continuously for more than 1,200 years, was salvaged and relocated, according to Daisho-in temple officials. It's the second time this century that the wooden hall near Hiroshima has been lost to fire, the New York Times reports. It was previously rebuilt after a blaze in 2005, when a monk preserved the flame.

The 2005 fire was caused when dead wood was burned during a post-typhoon cleanup. The cause of the latest fire is under investigation. According to the Japan Times, fire authorities suspect the flame itself may have been the culprit. The fire spread into nearby woods, and firefighters said reaching the mountaintop site complicated efforts, with crews hauling hoses uphill and quickly draining the hall's water tank. The temple says it plans to begin reconstruction at once. The flame, believed to have been lit by ninth-century monk Kukai and associated with healing and good fortune, has long drawn pilgrims to Miyajima.