Universal Studios, where movies and TV shows are made, became the center of a real-life drama. Just before dawn on Sunday, the studio backlot caught fire, destroying several pieces of Hollywood history. The New York streets, the King Kong exhibit, the New England Streets and parts of Courthouse Square...all burned to the ground. These are sets that have been seen in a number of movies like Back to the Future, Spider-Man 2 and Transformers.
A video vault, carrying more than 40,000 videos, also went up in flames. Fortunately, all the videos were just copies, so Universal will be able to duplicate them. But at one point, the plastic video cases that were burning created heavy and toxic smoke, leaving many of the surrounding areas with polluted air. The fire burned for more than 10 hours, making it one of the longest running building fires in Los Angeles history.
On Monday, the LA County Fire Department confirmed that the fire was accidentally started by studio workers who were repairing a New York street scape. But a lack of water pressure in the park left firefighters frustrated. This dilemma certainly hampered the firefighting efforts. Investigators also discovered that the sprinkler system installed back in the 90's throughout the backlot, was overwhelmed and couldn't keep up with the flames. Universal Studios and the LA County Fire Department are now exploring ways to upgrade that sprinker system before this happens again.
As for those who traveled thousands of miles to see Universal Studios...you can imagine, they were furious. In fact, some guests told me that they were given misinformation on the phone from Universal. Many had called before arriving at the park, and said they were told that Universal Studios would be opening after-all. But in fact, that never happened. To help guests cope with the disappointing news, Universal handed out vouchers for a free visit within 45 days.
You can watch my live report on KTLA.com.
