Blowtorch Touched Off Universal Fire

A blowtorch used to heat shingles on a movie set touched off the weekend fire at Universal Studios, Los Angeles County Fire officials said. The Los Angeles Times reported that fire officials found that two workers and a supervisor were putting up shingles in an alley on the New York Street set. They finished at 3 a.m., spent an hour watching for any sign of fire, then took a break. At 4:43 a.m., just as the crew was returning, a security guard saw flames and reported the fire, the Times said. The fire affected about 3 1/2 acres of the 391-acre park, Universal said, with damage estimated in the millions of dollars, the Times reported. The blaze damaged “King Kong” building that is part of the popular studio tour and a video library containing thousands of copies of movies and TV shows, the Times said.