A destructive fire is never a good thing for any major tourist attraction but the timing couldn’t have been worse for Universal Studios. Just as the summer vacation season begins an early morning blaze sent images around the globe of flames and thick smoke rising from the theme park. Even as the fire scene cooled, the studio devised a new marketing campaign for radio and outdoor advertising with the message “The Show Must Go On.” “Because of the images broadcast so widely around the world we wanted to correct any misconception that we were not able to operate,” theme park spokesman Eliot Sekuler said. The fire that broke out in the early morning hours of June 1 drew nearly 400 firefighters to the scene. Investigators concluded it was accidentally started by workers using a blowtorch on shingles in the back lot area used as a New York City streetscape. In total, less than one percent burned on the 391-acre site including the King Kong attraction viewed by visitors on the studio tour for more than 20 years; and a vault containing hundred of videos of television shows, prints of classic films, and music tapes. No official damage estimate has been released but is expected to dwarf the $25 million fire from 1990 that burned down the same New York City streetscape and resulted in minor water damage to the Kong exhibit. The studio lost revenue from not allowing visitors into the park for the day. On average, about 25,000 people visit the park on a weekend day. On June 2, the theme park and the adjacent CityWalk retail and dining center was back to its usual summertime crowds as the tour trams skirted the fire-damaged area in the center of the park. That doesn’t pose a problem for the tour because the route often changes depending on what filming takes place, Sekular said. “The studio tour is designed to be flexible,” Sekular said. In Los Angeles County, tourism is the number two industry based on employee figures. It is number one out of the five-county region. As one of two major theme parks in the county, Universal plays a major role in bringing visitors to the area. While an event like the fire calls attention to the tourism industry it does so in a way that some may not prefer. It would do Universal good if the focus of their marketing in the near future was on the new Simpsons ride and how families can still come out and have great day, said Jack Kyser, chief economist with the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. “You won’t miss King Kong,” Kyser said. The New York streetscape will likely be rebuilt as will the Kong attraction although a decision on what will go there has not been decided. The attraction will use contemporary technology, Sekular said. Media calls to Kyser’s office focused on the affect of the fire on film and television production. As none of the 30 soundstages were burned, what filming takes place during the summer months was not delayed. There are a couple of shows that were inconvenienced by the destruction to the New York streetscape but similar backdrops are available elsewhere, Kyser said. Exhibitors at museums, festivals and theaters expecting archival prints of classic films shipped from the studio received an e-mail informing them that the fire destroyed the prints. Big band and jazz recordings owned by Universal Music Group, a subsidiary of Vivendi SA, also went up in smoke in the vault. Low water pressure hampered firefighting efforts and forced firefighters to look elsewhere including in ponds on the studio site. Fire officials are investigating whether the massive complex has an adequate water supply and how much flow was needed to fight such a huge fire. Intense heat injured eight firefighters and an explosion near the storage vault hurt a firefighter and a sheriff’s deputy. The injuries were all minor.
