RonDo
06-01-2008, 14:12
UNIVERSAL CITY, Calif. -- A gigantic fire on Universal City's backlot broke out before dawn Sunday and destroyed several buildings, causing tens of millions of dollars worth of damage.
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Shortly before 7 a.m., a building housing the King Kong exhibit went up in flames. County firefighters, backed up by city firefighters and agencies across the county, encountered some explosions from propane tanks as they fought the fire, Jacobs said. Universal Studios also has its own fire department. Firefighters ran out of water in parts of the backlot at least twice during the firefight.Los Angeles County firefighters said at 9 a.m. that three firefighters had suffered minor injuries, as 400 firefighters continued to battle the Universal Studios fire, still out of control in in its fourth hour. The blaze was first reported in a sound stage on the studio back lot at about 4:45 a.m., and about 200 county firefighters were helping studio firefighters quench the blaze, which reportedly spread to the New York City and New England streetscapes. At least one sound stage and several other buildings were believed to have been lost within about 30 minutes. Several acres on the 230-acre back lot were burning at one point, creating a black cloud over the Hollywood Hills. 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. Though the fire was contained, it was still raging, Jacobs said. Eliot Sekuler of Universal Studios said only the "lower" back lot was damaged, not the theme park on top of the hill. He said CityWalk and the Universal Studios theme park would be open on Sunday. At 8:30 a.m., county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told a news radio station that Universal Studios and Citywalk would not open until at least noon. A county firefighter was reported injured about 7:25 a.m., though there was no immediate word on how seriously. Several urban search and rescue teams were dispatched to the fire. No other injuries were immediately reported, county fire Inspector Darryl Jacobs said. Several urban search and rescue teams were dispatched to the fire. "There was an issue with water, but that has been rectified," Jacobs said. "They are shuttling water in." Several helicopters were dropping water, he said, adding that firefighters were attempting to keep the blaze from high-value facilities such the film vault. But that building was believed to have been seriously damaged if not destroyed. As the fire moved from west to east, firefighters staged along Barham Boulevard to keep it from spreading into open space east of the road. The fire at first was believed to have begun during a film shoot, but authorities said at a 9 a.m. news conference that no filming was going on.
1990 Fire
Sunday's inferno at Universal City is burning many of the same back lot areas destroyed by a disastrous blaze in 1990.[/URL] In that blaze, gale-force Santa Ana winds whipped flames through the New York Street, the set used for the film Ben Hur, and most of the Courthouse Square facades used for "Back To The Future" and other films. Damage was estimated at more than $50 million, and an elaborate reconstruction project took several years to rebuild the sets. The 1990 fire was reportedly deliberately set by a security guard with a cigarette lighter.
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Something tells me this isn't a stunt. Poor King Kong. I think they need to come up with something better to handle fires at the Universal lot.
[URL="http://www.knbc.com/news/16449640/detail.html"]Source (http://www.filmmakersdestination.com/working/)
Live Video (http://www.knbc.com/videostream/10954229/detail.html)
Raw Video: 6:55AM (http://video.knbc.com/player/?id=257797) | 7:25AM (http://video.knbc.com/player/?id=257798)
Images (http://www.knbc.com/slideshow/news/16450048/detail.html)
Shortly before 7 a.m., a building housing the King Kong exhibit went up in flames. County firefighters, backed up by city firefighters and agencies across the county, encountered some explosions from propane tanks as they fought the fire, Jacobs said. Universal Studios also has its own fire department. Firefighters ran out of water in parts of the backlot at least twice during the firefight.Los Angeles County firefighters said at 9 a.m. that three firefighters had suffered minor injuries, as 400 firefighters continued to battle the Universal Studios fire, still out of control in in its fourth hour. The blaze was first reported in a sound stage on the studio back lot at about 4:45 a.m., and about 200 county firefighters were helping studio firefighters quench the blaze, which reportedly spread to the New York City and New England streetscapes. At least one sound stage and several other buildings were believed to have been lost within about 30 minutes. Several acres on the 230-acre back lot were burning at one point, creating a black cloud over the Hollywood Hills. 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. Though the fire was contained, it was still raging, Jacobs said. Eliot Sekuler of Universal Studios said only the "lower" back lot was damaged, not the theme park on top of the hill. He said CityWalk and the Universal Studios theme park would be open on Sunday. At 8:30 a.m., county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky told a news radio station that Universal Studios and Citywalk would not open until at least noon. A county firefighter was reported injured about 7:25 a.m., though there was no immediate word on how seriously. Several urban search and rescue teams were dispatched to the fire. No other injuries were immediately reported, county fire Inspector Darryl Jacobs said. Several urban search and rescue teams were dispatched to the fire. "There was an issue with water, but that has been rectified," Jacobs said. "They are shuttling water in." Several helicopters were dropping water, he said, adding that firefighters were attempting to keep the blaze from high-value facilities such the film vault. But that building was believed to have been seriously damaged if not destroyed. As the fire moved from west to east, firefighters staged along Barham Boulevard to keep it from spreading into open space east of the road. The fire at first was believed to have begun during a film shoot, but authorities said at a 9 a.m. news conference that no filming was going on.
1990 Fire
Sunday's inferno at Universal City is burning many of the same back lot areas destroyed by a disastrous blaze in 1990.[/URL] In that blaze, gale-force Santa Ana winds whipped flames through the New York Street, the set used for the film Ben Hur, and most of the Courthouse Square facades used for "Back To The Future" and other films. Damage was estimated at more than $50 million, and an elaborate reconstruction project took several years to rebuild the sets. The 1990 fire was reportedly deliberately set by a security guard with a cigarette lighter.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
Something tells me this isn't a stunt. Poor King Kong. I think they need to come up with something better to handle fires at the Universal lot.
[URL="http://www.knbc.com/news/16449640/detail.html"]Source (http://www.filmmakersdestination.com/working/)