6/3/08- Universal Studios Hollywood Backlot Fire Update - News and Photos
Spent most of the day at Universal Studios Hollywood on Monday, which was fully open and had no effect due to the Major Fire that happened on the Backlot area on Sunday.
First, some news...
Fire officials have identified the cause of the fire, which was a total accident (unlike the Backlot fire in 1990, which was arson).
http://www.latimes.com/features/heal...,6479128.story
The dramatic Sunday blaze that destroyed portions of the Universal Studios Hollywood back lot was accidentally touched off by company employees using a blowtorch to heat asphalt roofing shingles, authorities said.
Los Angeles County fire officials said two workers and a supervisor were putting up shingles in an alley on the New York Street set. They finished at 3 a.m., spent an hour watching for any sign of fire, then took a break.
At 4:43 a.m., just as the crew was returning, a security guard saw flames and reported the fire.
Also, Brady MacDonald from the Los Angeles Times reports that the King Kong attraction, which was destroyed by fire, will be replaced by a new attraction.
http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/?p=1977
Universal Studios Hollywood officials said the “King Kong” attraction, a key element of the movie and television theme park’s back lot tram tour destroyed by Sunday’s fire, won’t be rebuilt and will be replaced with an all-new, yet-to-be-determined attraction.
Also, listening to KNX 1070 AM News Radio here in the Los Angeles area, a Fire official admitted that they caused all the opening delays, and the actual closure of the Theme Park on Sunday.
Now, the photos...
The Beige Building in the Foreground was the former King Kong attraction.
An ironic shot from the pathway to the Tram Tour loading area
The side of the Famouse Courthouse Facade
Once again, Universal Studios Hollywood is operating normally, and all attractions are open.
First, some news...
Fire officials have identified the cause of the fire, which was a total accident (unlike the Backlot fire in 1990, which was arson).
http://www.latimes.com/features/heal...,6479128.story
Quote:
The dramatic Sunday blaze that destroyed portions of the Universal Studios Hollywood back lot was accidentally touched off by company employees using a blowtorch to heat asphalt roofing shingles, authorities said.
Los Angeles County fire officials said two workers and a supervisor were putting up shingles in an alley on the New York Street set. They finished at 3 a.m., spent an hour watching for any sign of fire, then took a break.
At 4:43 a.m., just as the crew was returning, a security guard saw flames and reported the fire.
http://travel.latimes.com/daily-deal-blog/?p=1977
Quote:
Universal Studios Hollywood officials said the “King Kong” attraction, a key element of the movie and television theme park’s back lot tram tour destroyed by Sunday’s fire, won’t be rebuilt and will be replaced with an all-new, yet-to-be-determined attraction.
Now, the photos...
The Beige Building in the Foreground was the former King Kong attraction.
An ironic shot from the pathway to the Tram Tour loading area
The side of the Famouse Courthouse Facade
Once again, Universal Studios Hollywood is operating normally, and all attractions are open.
Total Comments 16
Comments
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Today's Variety reports, "Studio brass are now 'taking the appropriate time to assess damages, which could take several days,' a studio spokesman said. There are plans to rebuild the damaged facades and King Kong attraction."
http://www.variety.com/article/VR111...goryid=13&cs=1Posted 06-03-2008 at 11:40 AM by Kiba
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Thanks for the update!Posted 06-03-2008 at 12:34 PM by WheresMickey -
Thanks for the update and pictures.Posted 06-03-2008 at 12:52 PM by pratt55 -
My Lord, this damage is just horrifying! Thanks for the pics, I hope they can rebuild this soon!Posted 06-03-2008 at 01:30 PM by Wotan -
are there any better closeups of the king kong building? i couldn't find any during the fire and was wondering if there were charred remains of the gorilla laying around at all or if it was incinerated or removed very quicklyPosted 06-03-2008 at 02:49 PM by almandot 
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These different news organizations just can't keep the story straight. It's so funny. According to the LA Times the King Kong Exhibit will NOT be rebuilt, but according to the Daily Variety it WILL be rebuilt.
The Channel 4 news on Sunday Morning (they were the only station covering it at 8am) kept saying the King Kong Attracation along with the Zephyr attraction had been destroyed. When they got a Universal Spokesperson on the phone he was correcting them quite strongly that Universal does not have, has never had, and will never have a Zephyr ride. I couldn't help but find that just too strange.
The back lot will of course be rebuilt. There are a lot of other studios that use one of the free standing street sets still left in Hollywood and it is a major source of income for the Studio.Posted 06-03-2008 at 03:40 PM by Lost Boy - There was always talk about replacing King Kong during the last 5 years. I am curious how the attendance will be in the next few weeks, if there will be a spike with most people wanting to take a first hand look riding the Tram. It's an exhibit in itself.Posted 06-03-2008 at 04:31 PM by animalx
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Wow. Those photos are morbidly fascinating.Posted 06-03-2008 at 06:05 PM by aimster -
Intersting that we never know when a piece of history will be lost. What makes Universal California different. Movies are really made there. Maybe they need to look at protection for the Beav's house. Norman Bates has a place their to.Posted 06-03-2008 at 10:02 PM by ralzap - Yeow,ouch.Posted 06-03-2008 at 10:14 PM by jeffy51
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Thank you David. Amazing pictures. Sad but at the same time compelling.Posted 06-04-2008 at 12:52 AM by Dustysage -
Whew...crazy stuff, and definitely sad, but it's so gratifying to see the courthouse still standing (albeit a little scorched on the side). It's so ridiculous how many sites have been saying that sets used in Back to the Future were destroyed, when that's so obviously not true! The buildings of courthouse square that were destroyed weren't the originals; those were already destroyed by the '90 fire, I think. Anyway, thanks for the update.
Posted 06-04-2008 at 11:54 AM by Datameister - Does anyone know what the Studio Tram tour is like now that this is missing? I'm going to be there next Tuesday and was wondering if they will have it built by then...
LOL I'm just messing around. It is very sad to see this history gone, for now.
But how has this affected the Studio Tour? I have never been and wouldn't know how much the NY Street plays into the tour. Do they just go around Kong and the NY part?
Thanks!! JUSTINPosted 06-04-2008 at 01:04 PM by JustinS -
The Tram Tour I went on Monday was about 40 minutes, which is close to the average 45 minutes they want to reach.
You just drive by the New York Street/King Knog area, but that is done quite often when they are filming on the streets. And Earthquake was down due to Mechinical issues. But the rest of the tour was pretty much the same, including a trip down Wisteria Lane (which will be limited when Desperate Housewifes start filming again, usually only available on weekends during filming).Posted 06-04-2008 at 06:28 PM by Darkbeer -
I don't think the Back to The Future set was destroyed before this because I saw an interview with a producer who said that set was now being used for Ghost Whisperer. It sure looks like the same one.Posted 06-06-2008 at 02:55 AM by MouseGoddess -
The original sets burned twice. In 1990 the South and West side of the Courthouse burned down, and then in 1997 a fire burned the North side, so the only building left is the Courthouse.
http://www.thestudiotour.com/ush/bac...ire_1990.shtmlPosted 06-07-2008 at 02:06 PM by Photoshop Falcon
