Universal Studios Hollywood Fire: King Kong and Back to the Future Destroyed

A major fire broke out in pre-dawn hours of June 1st at Universal Studios Hollywood. The fire, accidentally started by workers using blowtorches on a roof, was contained to the lower lot. The fire devastated a nearly two block area that included the King Kong attraction which you ride through on the tram tour, the Courthouse Square area which was featured in Back to the Future movies and the New York street sets which have appeared in dozens of movies, TV shows, and commercials.

Firefighters report that the intense heat made fighting the fire difficult. Suppression systems became useless as streams of water from their hoses turned to steam before even hitting the sets.

This is not the first time that the lower lot has suffered a major fire. The Courthouse Square area has burned before. After the fire in the 90's, the fire department worked with the company to build new fire suppression systems in the back lot. Those measures appear to have largely failed during this devastating fire. The fire department initially reported that water pressure was a major problem. But it now appears that the intense heat simply overwhelmed all measures to control the blaze.

The King Kong attraction caught fire from the roof, overwhelmed the fire system, and became too dangerous for fire fighters to save. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, whose district includes the studio, noted that once the facades surrounding the building ignited,