A fire broke out at the Warner Bros studio lot in Burbank, California on Friday after an electrical transformer blew. The fire department was swiftly called and the fire was subsequently put out.
Burbank Fire Department Battalion Chief Dave Burke tells Deadline the call came at 1:38pm US-PT and the fire was extinguished within 30 minutes.
Witnesses reported the sound of an explosion and power was at least partially out on the lot. There was no damage to buildings and no injuries reported.
It was not believed to have been a deliberate act, and and is being labelled an accident. Images and video online have shown dark smoke emerging from the lot.
The fire comes ahead of the first real surge of heat in Southern California this Summer while the valleys around Los Angeles could see triple-digits Fahrenheit.
Fire has impacted Warner Bros. lots before, most notably back in the early 2000s when a fire destroyed a sound stage at the Warner Bros. Movie World Studios on the Gold Coast in Australia during production of 2005’s “House of Wax”. The damage in that incident was said to be more than AUD $10 million.
RIGHT NOW: Major fire at @wbpictures
To all employees, contract workers, and picketers, STAY SAFE!@warnerbros @WGAWest @PreWGAStrike @wgastrikeunite #wb #warnerbros #fire #backlotfire #soundstagefire pic.twitter.com/fLbvVsypdT— Erik Deutscher (@ErikTheAnimal) June 30, 2023
