Professor Claims Site of Harry Potter's Hogwarts Has Caught on Fire

The historic site made famous as Hogwarts’ Great Hall in the Harry Potter film’s caught fire on Saturday, according to an eyewitness on Twitter.

Flames apparently broke out The Hall at Oxford University’s Christ Church College in England during the afternoon. Lancaster University professor Linda Woodhead tweeted a photo of the scene, showing multiple fire trucks outside the building.

“Christchurch (Hogwarts) Hall caught fire just now – the hot plate!” she wrote alongside the photo.
The Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue service said a hot plate was to blame for the blaze that lasted for about an hour before crews were able to put it out, Entertainment Weekly reports.

Soon after her first tweet, Woodhead sent a follow-up post, writing that crews were “still working on it.” She then retweeted another message, with the social media user writing, “just to say fire engines are now gone and damage is limited.”

One staff member told the university’s student newspaper, Cherwell, “we didn’t see any fire but there was a lot of black smoke.”
Christ Church Steward Pauline Linieres-Hartley sent out an email to students, noting that the fire was caused by an “electrical fault in a hot cupboard,” according to Cherwell.