Universal Studios to Rebuild Set Damaged by Suspicious Fire

Universal Studios plans to rebuild the back-lot movie set that was badly damaged last week by a fire that investigators said Wednesday was suspicious.

The fire caused about $2.5 million in damage Friday night to the studio’s “European Street” set in Universal City, Los Angeles County fire officials said.

The cost of rebuilding the set could be higher, said Daniel E. Slusser, senior vice president and general manager of the studio. He said $2.5 million would be a conservative estimate.

Less than two hours before the blaze, the studio received calls threatening to destroy “European Street” and Studio 44, a sound stage about a half-mile away, said Sgt. Dale Underwood of the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department’s arson explosive detail.

Only the sound stage was evacuated because the “European Street” set was not being used, Underwood said. No one was hurt in the fire, which razed four buildings in the center of the set, fire officials said.

As city and county firefighters fought the blaze, studio security officers found four suspicious packages in the sound stage area, where there was no fire, Underwood said.

The packages were not explosive or incendiary and appeared to be a hoax, he said.

“It’s a suspicious fire, and we’re still checking for arson,” Underwood said.

“European Street” contained much electrical equipment, and investigators still are sifting the debris, he said.

Tours of the studio have continued, skirting the fire-damaged area, Slusser said.

The set where the 1960 Kirk Douglas movie “Spartacus” was filmed was not damaged, contrary to earlier reports from fire officials, Slusser and Underwood said.

Slusser said the studio has no timetable for rebuilding the “European Street” set because the arson investigation is continuing. No filming was being done there and none was scheduled, but the damage could affect future projects, he said.

“We have to work around the fact that this location no longer is available,” Slusser said.

Universal City is a 450-acre site that includes the studios, the corporate headquarters of MCA, the Sheraton-Universal Hotel and a 100,000-square-foot office complex.