Universal Studios Fire On Historic Back Lot (VIDEO)

***UPDATE*** A fire at Universal Studios has destroyed a set from "Back to the Future," the King Kong exhibit and a video vault containing more than 40,000 videos and reels.

Los Angeles County fire Captain Frank Reynoso says the blaze broke out just before dawn Sunday on a backlot stage at the 400-acre property. The fire has been contained.

Officials say the iconic courthouse square from "Back to the Future," has been destroyed, and the famous clocktower that enabled star Michael J. Fox's character to time travel has been damaged.

NBC Universal President and Chief Operating Officer Ron Meyer says 40,000 to 50,000 videos and reels were damaged in the video vault, but there are duplicates in a different location.

UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. — A large fire raged on a back lot at Universal Studios on Sunday, devouring several movie sets and the theme park's King Kong attraction, officials said.

The King Kong exhibit is a stop on the studio's tram tour where the giant ape bellows at passengers and artificial banana scent fills the area, studio spokesman Eliot Sekuler said.

[WATCH]

Story continues below

advertisement

Los Angeles County Fire Inspector Daryl Jacobs said at least one building had burned and as many as three blocks of movie facades were destroyed.

Two mock New York and New England streets used for movie making and tourist displays were "a total loss," he said.

Though the fire was contained, it was still raging, Jacobs said.

The blaze broke out just before dawn on a sound stage at the 400-acre property, fire Capt. Frank Reynoso said. There was at least one explosion.

A thick column of smoke rose thousands of feet into the air and for a time helicopters swept in to drop water.

More than 100 firefighters were trying to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby brush, Reynoso said. One firefighter was hospitalized for unspecified injuries.

Sekuler said the theme park would open Sunday, though the studio tour would not go to the King Kong part of the attraction. He said a commercial shoot was going on when the fire broke out. The cause of the fire is under investigation.

Universal Studios is located nine miles north of downtown Los Angeles that has thrill rides and a back lot where movies and television shows are filmed.

Some of the more familiar attractions on the back lot are the clock tower from the "Back To The Future" movies and the house featured in "Psycho."

Scenes from several blockbuster films and television shows have been filmed at the studios, including "War of the Worlds," "When Harry met Sally" and "Scrubs."

Comments

[Grinner]

It's just a set.....not real buildings. It can all be rebuilt from balsa and glue again fairly cheaply. As for the videos, haven't Universal heard of DVD's, and other digital media storage?

[Deaninphilly]

Did you read the article or just the headline? It states in the article that Universal has copies at a separate location.

Typical of a Huffpo comment.

[BlueStateMan]

Nevertheless, those "vaults" are SUPPOSED to be fireproof.

[kellygrrrl]

it's still a little piece of history

[Hirnlego]

DVDs are heavily compressed

[Menocu]

everything is probably stored on a hard drive somewhere. However, as I understand it, information on a hard drive is not exactly safe if stored for a long period of time. I've heard that after about 10 years hard drives can lock up because of oxidation, effectively making the data useless. As for DVD's, who knows how long that format will be around for. Also, DVD's and CD's deteriorate rapidly. That is why the library of Congress uses vinyl record albums to store copies of famous recordings.

[jgsuperpants]

12 years ago I was a tour guide on the world famous Universal Studios Backlot Tram tour. An incredible experience, I got to spend everyday driving around the entire lot, immersed in the sets used in movies from before the advent of sound (the studio was established in 1915). This is American history, when you consider that America's largest cultural contribution to the world is our popular entertainment culture. This is the largest studio in the world, and the largest backlot. From movies like "The Sting" to "The Blues Brothers," "Jaws" to "History of the World, Pt. 1", "Psycho" to "Liar Liar," "Jurassic Park" to "Three Amigos," millions of movies, TV shows, music vids and commercials have been filmed on that storied backlot. It's truly a magical place to be, and one of my pure joys during my employment there was seeing the pure excitement on the faces of children and adults alike when they got the opportunity to see the locations in their favorite movies and shows up close. Seeing adults turn into kids when they see the sets of old Lon Cheney monster flicks, or classic westerns, always kept the experience fresh. I hope they can recover as much as possible, or at least rebuild as soon as possible.

I can't wait to get back there to check out the new Simpsons ride, even though it replaced the fantastic Back to the Future ride (which itself replaced the Battlestar Galactica tour exhibit).

[Deaninphilly]

Already hit the Simpson's in Orlando. It's pretty cool. Though I do have to say The Mummy is my favorite ride.

[BlueStateMan]

I did the sound on the Back to the Future Ride... (thank you...thank you vera vra much...)

[Ides]

Damn, I'm starting school there this fall. I hope it didn't burn down.

[sassafra]

*hmmph*, some vault . it couldn't even stand up to a fire. universal execs should be strung up for criminal negligence here. there are special ceramic bank vaults with chemical fire supression systems that could easily withstand a fire up to 2000 degrees F. easily within the range of what they are dealing with.

[Mort]

Very sad. Taking that tour was a highlight of my last visit to LA. Those of us who are movie buffs hold a special place in our hearts for this. Our condolences to those who are hurt or affected by the fire.

[wesinohio]

I'm going to Florida with my 13 year old son this August on vacation to visit a lot of relatives, eat a lot of good food like Cuban sandwiches, smoked mullet, guava past and crackers, explore some orange groves, practice my Spanish, hire a sponge boat outing in Tarpon Springs, take a day-trip to Havana (wink), eat some key lime pie, visit a Spanish fort, lie on Clearwater Beach, sail in the Keys, visit Bush Gardens and the Tampa Zoo and then on to Disney World and yes, we had planned to go to Universal Studios. My son is so much into movies. We'll still go and we're both looking forward to it so much! This will be my first two-week vacation in over twenty years.

[AnonymousHuckster]

The article is about Universal Studios HOLLYWOOD...as in Los Angeles, California. Thanks for the vacation itinerary, though. I'm glad to hear you'll be going after the guava and crackers on a sponge boat in Tarpon Springs, without that info I just don't know where I'd be.

[BlueStateMan]

LOL!!!!

I've worked at Universal many times.... the "King Kong" feature was an amusement park ride created to be just that ("King Kong" was shot in Culver City).

[SaulGood]

an honest mistake, no need to be rude. good lord.

[SaulGood]

wes, this fire is in california, not florida. also wanted to make a suggestion: if you get the chance, please visit the first coast. st. augustine is absolutely amazing in every possible way - several forts, an amazing lighthouse, unbelievable food, and shopping galore. we also have 26 miles of beaches, stretching from fernandina beach (shark teeth galore) all the way to ponte vedra beach (completely serene) which is just north of st. augustine. good luck on your trip, i live here - and even i am envious!!!

[wesinohio]

Thank you for your great response! I am so looking forward to this vacation and it gets closer every day. Thanks for your suggestions. I was told about St. Augustine once before and I definitely want to add that to my list of things to do. Again, thanks. - Wes.

[Deaninphilly]

Cuban Sandwiches, YUCK! Don't forget to speak English while you're here. The last thing we need is another person here refusing to speak English. If that's your deal, stay home!

[wesinohio]

English is my native language. Cuban sandwiches are delicious. I never said I would refuse to speak English, I said I would practice my Spanish. Go spew your hatred elsewhere. I was talking about my vacation with my son.

[DarrowFan]

I literally drove RIGHT PAST THE FIRE as it was raging because I had to be on the 101 Freeway this morning, and I'm not ashamed to say that I cried. To those of you who don't respect the fact that Hollywood is a HUGE contributor to America's economy and cultural history, shame on you.

A part of our history burned down today, and it was a SAD SIGHT to see Universal Studios ON FIRE. The thick "tornado" of smoke literally looked like the twister in the "Wizard of Oz" bearing down in the distance. As I got closer (within just a few hundred yards -- the freeway is THAT close), it was just a solid funnel of black smoke.

I'm relieved to know that there are duplicates of the movies in the vault at another location, but the loss of sets from beloved American films is its own version of tragedy.

My best wishes to everybody who had good memories of actually working on those sets and to anybody whose job might be in jeopardy because of the fire.

If only Marty McFly could have traveled back a minute before the fire and figured out how to prevent it!

[SaulGood]

{{hugs}}

[Theda]

Beautifully said, DarrowFan. I live three miles from Universal Studios and the smoke was everywhere. The fire is still raging over 15 hours since it first began.
I love the town square in "Back to the Future." The clock tower has been featured in countless films. But they'll rebuild everything that was destroyed. There will be a NEW town square and clock tower before long.

[TakLoufer]

Pics of the Back To the Future set:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/misterbiscuit/sets/72157600205156237/

Condolences to those folks who work for Universal; that's an enormous workforce that's going to be affected by this loss.

[x88justy]

What an absolutely incredible, amazing set of pictures of the Back to the Future movie set in both of its versions.

[Soundofthunder]

I remember when they, whoever they are, tore down the old crappy theater in my town to make way for a bank, the razing crew left the roadside marquee intact for a week or two. Under the words "Now Showing" it read "Attack of the Bulldozer!", and as your eyes wandered downward, yikes! there is was, the accursed bulldozer in the metallic flesh!

Universal should think of a similar joke, as opportunities for grandiose gallows humor don't come around too often.

SOT

[thenicerguy]

To those who find this an opportunity to make a snarky comment, gofuckyourselves. This is one of the most popular attractions in Los Angeles and a huge part of the economic vitality of the area. Literally hundreds of thousands of Los Angeles citizens make their living from Universal Studios and it is a beloved site for millions. What burned up today is part of our cultural heritage, from the movies of the 20' and 30 to the music videos and commercials of today.

So why no go back in your parent's basement - where most of you live anyway - and turn on the TV and shut the fuck up while the rest of us watch this sad scene in peace.

[bujeeboo]

Yeah, you hate to have to be proactive in your admonishments but the Christians who wield "God must hate Hollywood" or references to limousine liberals are the worst kind of humanity-hating trash on the planet. The same thought occurred to me.

[galateadoro]

As long as the Psycho house is intact.

[Big0725]

Norman, you've been a bad boy!

[StewieGriffin]

Yeah! My house better be ok! Fuck Back to the Future!

[lolyla]

Maybe they can incorporate the fire into an explosion scene for the next Bond movie, or Bourne movie, or Indy movie. Art mirroring life mirroring art.

[rmetz74]

That's really funny. I'm sure the hospitalized firefighter and people who are out of work are laughing like crazy.

This is not life mirroring art. It's life, period. Those of us who live here thank you for making light of it.

[nodonjuan]

According to local ABC news--The video vault that burned were duplicates. King Kong the ride was destroyed as were some street sets. All in all, could be worse.

[abigail1]

Thanks for that info. The loss of all those films would have been awful.
mostly just glad it seems no one was hurt!

[bujeeboo]

They better start making copies again. The spares are gone. That makes the originals even more precious.

[rmetz74]

Easy on the snark, everyone. The place they're talking about is smack in the middle of where hundreds of people live and work. Just because it's LA doesn't mean it's pretend.

[pizzmoe]

Thank you for that. LA is an actual place with actual people, as hard as that is to believe.

[shengirl]

I've read that some movie memorabilia was destroyed. Hope it wasn't too much or too priceless. Yes, movies are a big part of American culture and history, this is a sad event.

[Theda]

You're right, rmetz74. Thousands and thousands of people are employed at Universal Studios. It's a small city within itself. And it's surrounded by residential streets, homes and businesses.
The people who say "who cares?" are a bunch of uncaring slobs.

[solbro]

Just got back from the dog park in Beachwood. The smoke from the fire is funneling hundreds of feet in the air. Looks like a detonation site. The vault that was destroyed was a video archive. The NY street is gone as is the King Kong stuff. Of course, these money grubbers want to still open City Walk at noon even though the smoke looks like cloud coverage.

[Dalicious]

Is God punishing Hollywood for Susan Sarandon?

[TheEmptinessOfTruthiness]

What? God is Susan Sarandon's hitman now?

I thought God was a republican.

[JiminNC]

He was ... until Dubya came along ...

[AmericaIsATerroist]

No, but I can GUARANTEE you that Chuck Norris probably started the whole thing with a flying roundhouse kick.

[ladyv]

No. For Sharon Stone. =)

[butonelife]

Remember that little crack when a tornado, hurricane, levee break or some such rips your life apart.