A fire in the popular French resort of Chamonix has destroyed a cable car station at 1,972m and severely damaged one of the ski area's main lifts.

The fire broke out at 1:40pm on Tuesday at the Lognan station, the middle point of the Lognan and Grands Montets cable cars, and has caused 5,000 square feet of damage to the machinery and the station’s Rider Cafe.

The blaze started while workmen carried out routine improvements to the station’s roof. A statement from the resort explains that the flames spread quickly across the roof and inside the wooden structure. Helicopters and the local fire brigade arrived at the scene shortly after the fire started, but were unable to stop the blaze that has left the building completely burnt out.

The Logan cable car, linking the village of Argentiere with the mid station, and the upper cable car going to the top the summit of Grand Montets at 3,300m have both been severely damaged.

Five of the eight cables supporting the cabins have snapped and one of the cabins, close to the summit, has fallen to the ground.

Video footage shows plumes of black smoke billowing from the mid station across the Chamonix valley. The fire could reportedly be seen 20 miles away.

Photo Rob Atkinson pic.twitter.com/xdNwu258K2 — Olly Alkema (@brb_skiing) September 11, 2018

The area was closed to the public at the time, while the maintenance work was carried out. Nobody was injured during the blaze.

Despite the fire the Compagnie du Mont Blanc, which owns the lift, has announced that the Grands Montets ski area will open this season. However, CEO Mathieu Dechavanne has said repairs will take “many months” and it will involve replacing cables and cabins that have been damaged.

“The fire took hold quickly and progressed into the lift building. No one has been injured which is the good news. It’s a big, big disaster,” said Dechavanne.

The Logan station is an important stop on the piste map in Chamonix and is a starting point for many of the area’s other lifts. It is yet to be confirmed if both cable cars will be back in action for the coming winter.

The Logan cable car is a key access point for the mountain in winter Credit: tim hughes

This upper cable car is the only lift-served way to one of the resort’s most challenging ski areas, from the summit of the Grand Montets. It is often a bucket-list destination for expert skiers and snowboarders who head to Chamonix to ski off-piste and freeride terrain in the shadow of Mont Blanc, Europe’s tallest mountain.

If repairs cannot be made in time for next season the only access to the Grand Montets ski area will be via the resort’s Plan Joran lift, which starts in Argentiere. A blue piste then runs down to Logan base, where lifts in the new beginner area, close to the Logan station, as well as the Bochard cable car and Herse chairlift will supply the rest of the ski area.

Chamonix is one of the most popular ski resorts in the Alps for British skiers and snowboarders and has long been one of the most well-known resorts in the world, after it hosted the first Winter Olympic Games in 1924.

The resort has four separate ski areas spread out along the valley, and as well as the main town, a number of smaller villages, including Argentiere and Les Houches, are all covered by the same lift pass.