A huge fire raced through the backlot at Universal Studios in Universal City, CA, destroying sets, damaging a film vault, and sending a massive plume of smoke over the tourist attraction on the day of the 2008 MTV Movie Awards. The MTV event moved forward as planned and the park was able to open to guests, despite the smoke, ash, and presence of emergency personnel.
The cause of the fire which began on a sound stage in the 'New York' section of the backlot is under investigation. The blaze destroyed the King Kong attraction, the Courthouse Square set seen in Back to the Future as well as other feature films. Two New York and New Jersey streets were totally wiped out.
According to CNN, the set of the new Clint Eastwood movie Changeling was also destroyed in the blaze. In addition, the fire destroyed or damaged 40,000 to 50,000 videos and reels, however Chief Operating Officer of Universal Studios Ron Meyer said duplicates are kept in a separate location.
