FRANKFURT, Germany (AP) -- A fire Monday in the roof of Bonn's opera house damaged the building facade and stage area, city officials said.
The fire was believed to have started from welding sparks during roof repairs, leaving part of the silver-tiled exterior scorched. The opera was closed for the summer and there were no casualties.
``It looked pretty bad at the beginning,'' as a large column of smoke rose from the building, fire department spokesman Albert Lehmann said. Seventy firefighters battled heavy smoke to extinguish the blaze, which was put out within 2 1/2 hours.
The opera's stage area was damaged by smoke and water, city spokesman Friedhelm Frechen said, estimating damage at $308,000.
It wasn't immediately clear whether the damage would affect a Ludwig van Beethoven festival scheduled for Sept. 8 at the opera house in the city where he was born in 1770.
The boxy structure on the banks of the Rhine river was built in 1965 and was a favorite of politicians and diplomats in the decades when Bonn was West Germany's capital.
