A fire has been extinguished after it burned through parts of Universal Studios in Los Angeles on the 13th anniversary of a fire in the same amusement resort that torched iconics pieces of American pop culture history.
Footage of the blaze was shared on Twitter and shows the flames destroying a car park with a huge blown-up Minion figure from Despicable Me attached. Another video shared Twitter showcases someone crying out, “Oh my god, the Minion!”
The fire is believed to have began early on Wednesday morning. at the Universal City section of the park, located to the 101 Freeway, near Lankershim Boulevard.
Universal Studios Hollywood told The Independent that no one was hurt, no rides were damaged and that the park remains open to visitors.
“We are looking into the cause of the fire, but I can tell you there was no damage and no rides or attractions were affected and will not impact park operations. There were also no injuries and the incident occurred back of house in a non-guest area. We will open, business as usual. The situation was swiftly managed,” said company spokesperson Anastasia Lee.
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This aligns with what the Los Angeles Police Department said, as reported by NBC News Los Angeles. They said it was quickly dealt with, reported no causalities and that they were investigating the cause of the fire.
A fire in 2008 destroyed a King Kong attraction and the masters of many legendary American recording artists signed to Universal Records, such as Aretha Franklin, Joan Baez, Billie Holliday and Chuck Berry.
“Lost in the fire was, undoubtedly, a huge musical heritage,” documents about the fire read, as reported by The New York Times. The full extent of the loss was not fully understood until two years ago when the findings of an investigation into the 2008 fire was published.
Despite reports, such as The Times’, in the immediate aftermath in 2008, some of the destroyed archives had been previously unheard by fans, such as work by Steely Dan.
Twitter users responded to footage of the latest fire with awe and sympathy. However, some were shaken by its connection to the 2008 fire.
“The King Kong fire was exactly 13 years apart from this.... this doesn’t sit right with me at all,” one user wrote in reply to the video.
“It’s crazy cause Universal Hollywood studios also had a crazy ass fire on the same day 13 years ago..... but the last one was way worse,” another user wrote.
