A massive fire tore through the back lot of Universal Studios in Universal City (Los Angeles), California, today. The blaze, which started on a sound stage early this morning, destroyed the courthouse square that was a center piece of the Back to the Future movies. Also lost were the King Kong exhibit (which included a 30-foot-tall moving model of King Kong, and which had been a mainstay of the studio tour), two of the eight locations used for Ghost Whisperer (though a CBS spokesperson says the damage “will not affect the Season 4 premiere”), and a vault with 40,000-50,000 videos and film reels, although Universal officials say copies of them all were safe. The fire burned through many buildings and facades, after breaking out along New York Street. It was contained after a few hours, but continued to burn more than 12 hours after it was discovered.
The Los Angeles Times has extensive coverage here, as does Variety as this link. Click here for MSNBC’s report, and here for CNN’s report.