Fire at US California

[JLTraveling]

Doesn't the Library of Congress maintain copies of everything? It's definitely not the same, but if the vault does turn out to be gone, it would be better than nothing...

 

[Noctuenza]

You could see from some video footage people were taking things out of the building. I'm hoping in this day and age most of the vault contents were at least digitized. As tragic as this loss will be, let this be a lesson to other studios. This is not just film history, it is American history.

 

[megan_in_pink]

one firefigther is now hurt.

 

[Planogirl]

I just heard about this. I hope that everyone is OK and the things in the vault were backed up. I would prefer that the vault not be on fire of course but it doesn't look good.

 

[Planogirl]

I just saw an update on CNN and what it looked from above. It looked like a big soundstage was on fire and a good size area was burned down but the fire was out. They did NOT mention the movie vault or any attractions so that wasn't much help.

 

[ky07]

Looks bad and alot is already lost
Just ashame when things like this happens

 

[keishashadow]

Why would any company put all of it's film in one place? I realize there is only one "original" film....but they make copies even in the old days....why aren't those all kept in various locations? Losing the original is devasting, but losing any record of it because they didn't keep copies elsewhere is really just unimaginable in this day and age! And irresponsible for those involved in it's keeping.

California is known for devasting earthquakes, which can destory entire areas, so it's not like they were PollyAnna enough to think that nothing would happen. Fires happen all the time too.

Let's hope that the film vault was just one of many locations that they keep copies of films. Otherwise, you can bet there will be heads rolling in Hollywood!

I know (from a collector DVD that i got for Xmas re Disneyland) that when they were in the process of transferring all their old films to storage in Western Pa (where i live, big business in old coal mines, etc. businesses store their data, etc); they found tons of old historical material as to building of the park, etc.

I'd be willing to bet that U also had the sense to ship such delicate/valueable films for safekeeping too

ps amazing blaze, evidently fire just ran thru all the wooden false fronts of the buildings & it took off so rapidly.

we were on the fence as to include in trip end of month (wanted to see the backlot tour); guess they'll announce as to what's up & running soon.

while i assume they are heavility insured, wonder what financial repercussions as to stock

 

[Akdar]

Wow, still going at 12:12PM eastern, they is a press conference right now with the Fire Chief.

http://media.myfoxla.com/live/2/

3 injured Firefighters, nothing serious though.

Some pix as of 12:20PM Eastern

 

[donaldduck352]

Yeah its official,the video libary is gone not the vault

 

[Akdar]

Yeah its official,the vault is gone

Just the video vault, nothing that can't be replaced, the motion picture vault has not been effected at all. I have west coast feeds of all the major networks on my diectv, so I've been watching those. They are using Universal's own water is being used to fight the fire, and the park is opening at noon, the show must go on. This is just a back lot, not an actual neighborhood in the park.

Now they are saying all the videos were duplicates, and all the plastic and film are what is making the smoke so black.

 

[JLTraveling]

Yeah its official,the video libary is gone not the vault

Thank God! That's going to be a heck of a lot of work, replacing the videos, but so much better than what we feared.

Anyone else think it's nuts to open the theme park with all that heavy smoke though? There have to be a lot of toxins in the air and water.

 

[Akdar]

Still blazing along

 

[cbdmhgp]

sad, sad,sad day

 

[Akdar]

They have just said again, after interviewing the COO of Uni, that all the videos or film that were burned, were duplicates, not originals!

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

Wow - just heard about this ...

 

[momrek06]

Please keep updating this thread!!

 

[Cdn Friends of Pooh]

From Myfoxla.com

Last Edited: Sunday, 01 Jun 2008, 11:13 AM PDT
Created: Sunday, 01 Jun 2008, 6:35 AM PDT

A huge fire tears through buildings at Universal Studios in Universal City on Sunday, June 1st.

The blaze was reported before dawn at a sound stage.

Firefighters hampered by low water pressure battled for more than six hours, but had yet to control a massive fire sweeping across the back lot at Universal Studios today.

The gigantic fire destroyed sound stages, much of the New York City streetscape and burned through the King Kong segment of the popular backlot tour. A warehouse housing thousands of videotapes burned intensely five hours into the fire, but "nothing irreplaceable was lost," said Ron Meyer, the president of Universal Studios.

Explosions launched basketball-sized debris onto city streets a quarter mile from the fire, and three firefighters suffered minor injuries. More than 400 firefighters laid hoses into nearby ponds and reservoirs, as firefighters grappled with low water pressure while battling flames towering 100 feet in the air.

"There is no question that there was a lack of water pressure," said county Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky.

County fire chief P. Michael Freeman said large "deluge" automatic firefighting pipes installed in movie sets after a disastrous 1990 fire may have led to the reported lack of water pressure. That arson swept through the same area that burned today, and had supposedly been rebuilt with modern fire suppression equipment.

Six hours after the first report of a fire, flames continued to leap from a large warehouse on the lower, northern section of the massive facility, and a mushroom-shaped cloud continued to erupt over the San Fernando Valley.

Fire trucks were running low on fuel, and were being sent from fire lines to gas up. City fire officials recommended that residents of Toluca Lake consider self-evacuating due to acrid smoke erupting from tens of thousands of burning videotapes and their plastic cases.

One firefighter was taken to a hospital in Sherman Oaks at 10:20 a.m., apparently the fourth injured person.

A county firefighter was reported injured about 7:25 a.m., and was reportedly treated "after getting some bad smoke," said Los Angeles city council member Tom LaBonge. Two city firefighters also suffered minor burns.

The blaze was first reported in a sound stage on the studio backlot about 4:45 a.m., and at least 400 city and county firefighters were helping studio firefighters quench the blaze, which spread to the New York City streetscape, county fire Inspector Darryl Jacobs said.

At least one sound stage and several other buildings, including facades meant to look like New York, were believed to have been lost within about 30 minutes.

Several acres on the 230-acre backlot were burning at one point, creating a black cloud over the Hollywood Hills. The flames were shooting more than 100 feet in the air, and a mushroom cloud rose 10,000 feet in the air.

Eliot Sekuler of Universal Studios said only the "lower" backlot was damaged, not the theme park on top of the hill. Sekuler appeared on several news broadcasts early in the incident to assure patrons that the Universal Studios theme park and Citywalk shopping center would open on time at 9 a.m.

But Los Angeles city council member Tom LaBonge said smoke was so bad at 8 a.m. that themepark goers may be better advised to stay out of the area. The attractions remain closed through at least noon.

Several hundred feet from the fire sits the Gibson Amphitheatre, site of the "MTV Movie Awards" scheduled for a national telecast at 5 p.m. MTV officials said the show would go on, but firefighters and city officials had made no decision on reopening access roads and employee parking lots in the area.

County firefighters, backed up by city firefighters and agencies as far away as Arcadia, 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.

"There was an issue with water, but that has been rectified," Jacobs said. "They are shuttling water in."

Firefighters and Universal employees were frantically removing cases of videotapes, working close to flames, until the building was evacuated shortly before 8 a.m., LaBonge said.

Shortly before 7 a.m., a building housing the King Kong exhibit went up in flames. That building escaped damage during a 1990 blaze.

As the fire moved from west to east, firefighters staged along Barham Boulevard to keep it from spreading into heavy brush in Griffith Park.

Firefighters also worried about contaminated runoff flowing into the nearby Los Angeles River.

 

[Snowy-girls]

This is so sad,thankfully no one has been seriously injured or killed.The last we have heard on UK news,is 3 Firefighters injured,1 with heat exhaustion,2 with minor burns.Now over 400 Firefighters are on scene.They believe it could have been a propane cylinder which caused the massive explosion.x.

Another report(albeit NOT confirmed-this is doing the rounds on the Internet)--that a bomb threat phonecall was made 30mins before the explosion.x.

 

[momrek06]

Thanks, POOH, for the article. Please keep updating for those of us not living anywhere near US or even CA.

 

[Metro West]

Yeah its official,the video libary is gone not the vault