California wildfire burns down sets of 'Westworld,' 'The Bachelor,' and other shows
The fires ravaging Southern California are wreaking havoc on locations used for several hit TV shows.
The Old West town featured in scenes of the HBO drama Westworld, located at Paramount Ranch in Agoura Hills, Calif., has burned down in the Woolsey fire, one of two fires burning in Southern California.
We are sorry to share the news that the #WoolseyFire has burned Western Town at #ParamountRanch in Agoura. We do not have any details or photos, but it is our understanding that the structures have burned. This area is an active part of the incident and we cannot access it. pic.twitter.com/oC4n7KR8ZT
— Santa Monica Mtns (@SantaMonicaMtns) November 9, 2018
Cast member Evan Rachel Wood was brokenhearted over the news, but she pointed out that the church miraculously remained intact.
This is eerie. So sad for the history lost. Amazed the church is still standing. #surreal https://t.co/6Xa7cRIWYP
— #EvanRachelWould (@evanrachelwood) November 9, 2018
Western Town is now part of the National Park Service and open to the public, but it was originally leased by Paramount Pictures in 1927. Most of the structures were constructed in the 1950s and served as a backdrop for dozens of films and TV shows.
Over the years, the ranch has starred in many productions besides Westworld, including The Love Bug; Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman; The X-Files; Weeds; and The Lake House.
“We were all bound together. The living and the damned.” #Westworld pic.twitter.com/ok3pTbwUBq
— Westworld (@WestworldHBO) August 20, 2018
In a statement, HBO said, “Paramount Ranch was one of the locations used during seasons one and two of Westworld, in addition to the primary location at Melody Ranch in Santa Clarita. Westworld is not currently in production, and as the area has been evacuated, we do not yet know the extent of the damage to any structures remaining there.”
The fire also jeopardized King Gillette Ranch, which is down the road from Paramount Ranch and also part of the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. The park was the longtime home of The Biggest Loser and currently a location being used by Comedy Central’s “Drunk History.” Co-host Derek Waters took to Instagram on Friday to announce the show was shutting down production and evacuating.
A post shared by Derek Waters (@dw34) on Nov 9, 2018 at 12:00pm PST
Another piece of movie history, Malibu Creek State Park in nearby Calabasas, is also in jeopardy due to the fires. The 20th Century Fox studio purchased the 2,000-acre site expressly for filming in 1946. The park got its close-up in movies such as the Best Picture Oscar-winning How Green Was My Valley, the original Planet of the Apes with Charlton Heston, Elvis Presley’s Love Me Tender, and The Seven Year Itch, one of Marilyn Monroe’s most iconic films. The TV classic M*A*S*H was also filmed on the ranch; the mountains immortalized in the show’s opening scene were aflame on Friday.
Campgrounds at the park are closed until further notice, and all camping reservations have been canceled.
A more modern piece of TV history affected by the fires is the famous Bachelor mansion, which is also used for The Bachelorette. The outlook for the Agoura Hills property was bleak as of Friday afternoon, with sources telling The Hollywood Reporter the back patio was burning and a smaller house on the property used for production had already been destroyed.
Thinking of the people of Malibu and yes #TheBachelor Mansion is in grave danger as well. https://t.co/HzTAWgqU6x
— Robert Mills (@Millsy11374) November 9, 2018
The Calabasas, Calif., homes of the Kardashians, as seen in Keeping Up With the Kardashians, have been evacuated as well.
TMZ reported Friday evening that the home of KUWTK star Caitlyn Jenner — featured on her own 2015 show, I Am Cait — has also been destroyed by the fires.
View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Caitlyn Jenner (@caitlynjenner) on Nov 9, 2018 at 3:39pm PST
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