The scale of the fires that have scorched Los Angeles is overwhelming. Thousands of structures have been destroyed or damaged, including sites that were part of Hollywood film history. Lives and buildings lost can be counted, but it is harder to quantify the cultural damage of the Palisades and Eaton Fires. Some sites important to movie history came dangerously close to going up in smoke, and others are lost forever.
What Survived
The Palisades fire spread rapidly, but firefighters were able to curb it before it reached the intersection of Mulholland Highway and Las Virgenes Road, sparing famous film sites such as King Gillette Ranch and Malibu Creek Park. This area has been a popular filming location as far back as 1919 when the Mary Pickford film Daddy-Long-Legs was shot at Malibu Creek’s Rock Pool. Planet of the Apes (1968), Beneath the Planet of the Apes (1970), and Battle for the Planet of the Apes (1973) were filmed at multiple locations in Malibu Creek. Because this area was saved, fans will still be able to find one of the cages from Beneath the Planet of the Apes sitting alongside Cage Creek Trail. Hikers will also still be able to visit the old M*A*S*H* set after a pleasant walk through sagebrush-covered hills serenaded by Malibu’s famous feral parakeets.
Planet of the Apes
“Lives and buildings lost can be counted, but it is harder to quantify the cultural damage…”
The Eaton fire crept within inches of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, whose projects have inspired filmmakers for decades. It is not possible to overstate the influence that the space program has had on writers, artists, and filmmakers, and any damage to JPL would have been a loss not just for science but also for the arts. Any film or television show that makes mention of space probes, planetary rovers, or deep space exploration owes something to this facility. Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979) was centered on JPL’s Voyager Program, a project which is still running today after more than fifty years, and Ridley Scott’s film adaptation of The Martian (2015) was shot extensively on location at JPL. The Eaton Fire was halted before it could consume the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, which is great news for fans of both science and science fiction.
What Didn’t
Western film history has taken two severe losses. In the Palisades, the Will Rogers House has been destroyed. Rogers was one of the first movie cowboys and is still considered the greatest trick roper of all time. Rogers wrote many of the title cards for his silent films, and his legendary wit crossed over perfectly to the “talkies,” and he was the first to utter the sort of one-line quip that is now common in comedy and action films. His Palisades ranch was where he did much of his writing. Rogers’ estate was given to the people of California by his widow and, for 80 years, has been a public park, with his home sitting at the heart of a network of hiking trails and recreational land. The site was used as a filming location for many films, including Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home (1986) and The Parent Trap (1998). While the Will Rogers House will never welcome visitors again, hikers and filmmakers will hopefully one day return to this site.
Several schools have been damaged or destroyed by the fires, most notably Palisades Charter High School. Nicknamed “Pali” by locals, this school was an excellent example of mid-century California school architecture with its red brickwork, green courtyards, and gently zig-zagged rooflines. The neighborhood around the school is close to the beach and major film studios, making it popular with parents who work in film and television. Unsurprisingly, Palisades Charter High School has a lengthy list of alumni who are second-, third-, and even fourth-generation film professionals. About half of the campus remains, so hopefully, films including Carrie (1976), Crazy/Beautiful (2001), and Freaky Friday (2003) will not be the last to be shot at this location.
