LA area wildfires - movie theaters affected

[Leo Enticknap]

Wondered if anyone had any hard info or educated guesses as to theaters that have and haven't been affected.

From looking at the burn areas indicated on the Watch Duty app, I fear that two residence theaters I service on the Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu are gone, plus one cinema in that area. The house manager of a third residence theater called me yesterday afternoon asking to be walked through the complete booth shutdown procedure, because they'd been told to evacuate immediately. I would guess that the Bay Theatre in Pacific Palisades has at least sustained significant damage, based on published photos of the immediate vicinity.

Again, based purely on what I can see online and not hard information from anyone who works there, it looks to me like the Aero Theatre in Santa Monica could be at risk, though the fire would have to move at least a mile south. It is right on the edge of the mandatory evacuation zone (Montana Avenue is the border). The Altadena fire looks to be about half to three quarters of a mile from a college campus containing a theater that I helped to install, too.

[Frank Cox]

I wonder what effect this will have on the movie industry in general, considering that so much of it is centered around LA.

[Randy Stankey]

Even if a theater doesn't burn down, the smoke might be enough to total a movie projector.

A film projector MIGHT be able to be cleaned up by tearing it down, cleaning everything, replacing the lenses and things but a digital projector is likely to be a goner. Smoke in the light engine will probably ruin it to the point where no amount of cleaning can rescue it.

I don't even know whether covering a projector with plastic and duct tape to totally seal it off would be able to save it.

Not to mention, speakers, sound equipment, computers and electronic gear. Air conditioning systems will probably require a total cleanout, as well.

I'm not certain if this is completely true but, if it was my theater, I'd be gravely concerned about it.

I'd almost prefer to have the whole place burn down rather than spend all the time cleaning up from smoke damage.

[Terry Monohan]

Such a tragic loss of homes and business places in the LA area. I am told many of the fire hydrants in the hills had no water pressure to fight this wind inferno. The city and state had cut way back on fire funding. Many of the homes lost did not cut the surrounding landscape. The area has had no rain and the wind just took off.

Thank god they semi stopped the Hollywood Hills fire last night. It was so close to Hollywood Blvd and the Chinese, El Capitain & Egyptian Theatres.

This disaster is like from a movie when you watch the devastation on the news. So many people had to flee and many won't have a home to come back to.

The Hollywood Chinese Imax Theatre needs to bring back a 70mm blow up print of the 'Towering Inferno' for the tourists and donate some of the money to help all the lost and injured animals and some people that had no insurance.

California insurance will now be way to costly to afford. New housing laws in the LA area need to have a fire proof roof and sprinkler systems put in all the new re builds plus cut way back on any trees left standing.

Many people saved their own homes when the fire dept never showed up and used a garden hose with pool water. Not all the thousands of homes lost were expensive properties and many home owners will leave and not re build.

[Dennis Benjamin]

I saw this on the news:

Will Rogers' ranch house, Hearst-owned motel burned by Palisades fire - Los Angeles Times

Will Rogers’ ranch house and motel owned by William Randolph Hearst consumed by Palisades fire


Will Rogers’ former ranch house was destroyed by the Palisades fire on Jan. 8, 2025.

(California State Parks)
By Andrew J. CampaStaff Writer
Jan. 8, 2025 7:39 PM PT

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• California State Parks Director Armando Quintero acknowledged Wednesday the total loss of Will Rogers’ historic ranch house and the Topanga Ranch Motel built by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst.
• Both were consumed by the fire that has spread nearly 16,000 acres and devoured an additional 300 structures, including homes and businesses.

Among the carnage wrought by the devastating Palisades fire were two pieces of California history dating to a bygone era.

Will Rogers’ historic ranch house, owned by the famous social commentator, actor and performer, and the Topanga Ranch Motel, built by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst, were victims of the fires that have wreaked havoc throughout Southern California over the last two days, according to California State Parks Director Armando Quintero.

Both were consumed by the fire that has charred a total of nearly 16,000 acres and devoured an additional 300 structures — including homes and businesses — as of Wednesday afternoon.

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California Homes, structures ‘in the thousands’ are burned in Palisades, Eaton, officials say; more fire weather ahead


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“California State Parks mourns the loss of these treasured natural and cultural resources, and our hearts go out to everyone impacted by the devastating fires in the Los Angeles area,” Quintero said in a statement.

Both structures were part of the damage sustained throughout Topanga State Park and Will Rogers State Park as fire destroyed state employee residences, along with more than 30 other structural losses.

Rogers, known toward the later part of his life for his political commentary, was once one of Hollywood’s highest-paid actors. He started his career as a vaudeville performer and was a famed humorist.

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The aftermath of a fire at the historic Topanga Ranch Motel on Jan. 8, 2025.

(California State Parks)

During the 1920s, Rogers purchased land in Santa Monica, developing what became a 359-acre ranch that overlooks the Pacific Ocean in what is now Pacific Palisades.

The actual ranch home consisted of 31 rooms, with an adjacent guesthouse, a stable, corrals, a golf course and hiking trails.

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Rogers died at the age of 55 in a plane crash in Alaska in 1935.

His widow, Betty, eventually donated the ranch to the state in 1944, and it became the historic state park.

The family said in a statement Wednesday that it was deeply saddened that Rogers’ historic home and the “the Barn that Jokes built” were destroyed.

California Fire hydrants ran dry as Pacific Palisades burned. L.A. city officials blame ‘tremendous demand’


Jan. 8, 2025
“While the loss to the Will Rogers Ranch is devastating, it pales in comparison to the loss of the property and businesses and, more importantly, the lives of those in the surrounding area,” Jennifer Rogers, a Rogers family representative, said in a statement.

Rogers was born to a Cherokee family in Oklahoma and was regarded as “among our most beloved Cherokees,” said Principal Chief Chuck Hoskin Jr. of the Cherokee Nation.

“The … loss of Will Rogers’ historic home is certainly a tragedy, and the entire Cherokee Nation is sending our thoughts and prayers to great-granddaughter Jennifer Rogers-Etcheverry and family,” Hoskin said in a statement.
The Topanga Ranch Motel before the Palisades fire.
(California State Parks)

In 1929, San Francisco native Hearst built the bungalow-style Topanga Ranch Motel, which was across the street from Topanga Beach.

The motel included 30 rooms and once housed construction workers building Pacific Coast Highway.

While area hotels were pricey, Topanga Ranch Motel offered an inexpensive seaside vacation.

Tourists, families and writers stayed there for decades. The facility was acquired by California State Parks in 2001.

There had been plans to restore 20 of the bungalows for public use again.

State Parks closed down Topanga and Will Roger state park and beach shortly after the Palisades fire began Tuesday, Quintero said.

Entertainment & Arts Eames House and other L.A. cultural gems threatened by fire: status updates


Jan. 9, 2025
Other historic or notable losses include:

Palisades Charter High School

The 3,000-student campus suffered significant damage, including to the school’s athletic facilities and bungalows. Adjacent Palisades Charter Elementary and nearby Marquez Charter Elementary are feared to be total losses.

Pasadena Jewish Temple and Center

Torah scrolls were saved, but the temple and center were destroyed for a community that has called Pasadena home for more than 100 years.

Pierson Playhouse within Theatre Palisades

Performances date to the 1960s, with the playhouse being built in the 1980s. The board of directors has suspended all operations because of serious damage suffered in the fire, according to a statement.

The Reel Inn

One of Malibu’s famed “seafood shacks,” the Reel Inn burned down, its owners confirmed on Instagram. The establishment had stood for 36 years.

[Leo Enticknap]

Just heard on the radio driving home of official estimates that 5,300 structures have been damaged or destroyed in the [Pacific] Palisades fire, and 4,000 to 5,000 in the Eaton (Altadena and Pasadena) fire. That's a staggering increase from the last figure of 1,000 structures in the LA metro total that was being quoted yesterday evening. I also have a horrible feeling that the six confirmed fatalities isn't going to stay at that figure, either. There have been too many reports of people refusing to evacuate and planning to defend their homes with backyard hoses. I admit that in the light of those figures, it seems trivial to be talking about movie theaters, and I don't mean to belittle or ignore the tens of thousands who have been made homeless, or worse; especially those who are not in a financial position to throw as much money at the problem as it takes (a lot of the Pacific Palisades homeowners will be, but Altadena certainly is not a millionaires' enclave).

Even if a theater doesn't burn down, the smoke might be enough to total a movie projector.

A film projector MIGHT be able to be cleaned up by tearing it down, cleaning everything, replacing the lenses and things but a digital projector is likely to be a goner. Smoke in the light engine will probably ruin it to the point where no amount of cleaning can rescue it.

I was at a service call in Paramount (the suburb with that name in south LA, not the studio lot), about 30 miles from both fires, today. The air was hazy and smelled of wood smoke when I got out of the car, but the HVAC was doing its job and there seemed to be no problem with air quality in the booth. But I agree that HVAC air filters are going to clog up and need cleaning or replacing at shorter intervals over the next few weeks, as are, possibly, the air filters in projectors themselves. If there are theaters where a significant amount of smoke from nearby combustion got into the booth then I agree that this could be a problem.

California insurance will now be way to costly to afford. New housing laws in the LA area need to have a fire proof roof and sprinkler systems put in all the new re builds plus cut way back on any trees left standing.

Apologies for citing a very political website, and for the, shall we say, colorful language, this guy uses, but he makes a good point that I haven't heard anyone else make so far: the approval and permitting process for putting up any new structure in California is difficult, time consuming, and expensive. If you own a dirt lot and want to build something on it, even if that lot is already zoned for what you want to do with it, it takes an average of seven years from filing the first forms to breaking ground. Quite apart from the insurance problem, will the state, counties, and cities affected find some way to fast track the permitting of rebuilding these structures? And will the now mandatory expensive add-ons (e.g. every new single family home built in CA has to have solar panels on its roof) apply, too? If they do, even those who did have insurance will likely find themselves under-insured.

Thank god they semi stopped the Hollywood Hills fire last night. It was so close to Hollywood Blvd and the Chinese, El Capitain & Egyptian Theatres.

Not to mention high rise apartment blocks, densely populated overnight. If there was one bullet dodged in Pacific Palisades, it was that the fire started early in the daylight hours, and the areas worst affected were occupied mainly by low density, single family homes, thereby making it possible for most to evacuate safely. Imagine everyone from a dozen 40-storey apartment blocks trying to get down Sunset and Hollywood Boulevards to the 101, and in darkness...

[Paul H. Rayton]

The thing I find most distressing, as a resident of the northeast L.A. area [within view of the "Eaton" fire], is the toxic nature of the "smoke". This is not a nice, cute little smoke from your wood-burning fireplace stuff -- this is all stuff from burning residences and businesses. SO ... it's full of burned-up plastics, industrial and domestic chemicals, leftover asbestos, insecticides, and electronic components, every one of which is not real swell for ones' health. I wear a mask when outdoors, and I've been keeping the fan of the home a/c circulating air all day long, but I can't escape the feeling that this airborne mess is taking about a year off my lifespan, and there's no escaping it.

[Mike Blakesley]

The political blame game has already started, and I do think the mayor could be hung out to dry considering they cut funding for the LA fire department.

That said, I do think this is one of those things where extra firefighting ability might not have had all that much effect, when you consider the Santa Ana winds, and the dryness of the area. I still remember the 1988 fires in Yellowstone National Park. The situation was similar, except in a forest setting instead of a city. They threw every possible bit of resources at those fires and nothing could stop them, because of the dry conditions, fuel load, and especially the winds. It took Septemer rain and snow to put them out.

[Mark Gulbrandsen]

There is no way to fight fires in 80 to 90 mph wind gusts, that carry cloud size doses of embers all over the place... end of story.

[Lyle Romer]

There is no way to fight fires in 80 to 90 mph wind gusts, that carry cloud size doses of embers all over the place... end of story.

That's the scary thing. If there is dry fuel available for the embers to land on it's going to spread no matter what you do. You can build structures that are difficult to ignite. If the exteriors are concrete, glass and metal and the roofs are metal or non-asphalt tile and there is no exposed wood there's a reasonable chance that the structure won't burn. You have to avoid weaknesses like the exposed wood trim along the roof that my house in Florida has. There isn't much wildfire risk here but if my same house was built in the path of these fires, it would be vulnerable to the trim igniting and then allowing the fire to get into the attic and then it's pretty much game over.

Sad to see. There's probably some forest management stuff that can be done to lower the risk of a wildfire starting. However, once it starts, if it's near enough to a population center, I don't think there's much that can be done to prevent it from turning into a disaster like this.

[Randy Stankey]

The problem isn't, simply, forest/environmental management. The real problem is that people have overbuilt homes and businesses in fire prone areas. You can perform all of the "dry fuel" management you want. You can enact all the fire safety laws you want. There are just too many buildings for the environment to safely support.

My girlfriend's family still lives in California. They live in Ventura, hopefully in a place where there won't be many bad fires but my GF is still worried about her family home. Ever since she moved east, she has been saying that something like this was bound to happen. She is pretty upset too see what's happening in the news. At the same time she says, "I told you so!"

Basically, California's chickens are coming home to roost.

[Harold Hallikainen]

I recently received notice that next week's ICTA conference is changing from in=person to virtual due to the fires.

[Frank Cox]

My brother is just now in the process of moving to Eureka. I don't know enough about California geography to know if that's a fire-prone area or not, but google did tell me it's an area subject to earthquakes.

[John Thomas]

There is no way to fight fires in 80 to 90 mph wind gusts, that carry cloud size doses of embers all over the place... end of story.

This is correct. We had a couple of extremely windy days in the middle of a drought. Conditions were already perfect for small brush fires to get out of control. Then the wind not only made the fires spread rapidly, but also made water drops from the air impossible.

The Bay Theater is still standing, no word yet on its condition otherwise.

[Leo Enticknap]

If the exteriors are concrete, glass and metal and the roofs are metal or non-asphalt tile and there is no exposed wood there's a reasonable chance that the structure won't burn.

The problem with that here is the seismic add-ons to the building code. Traditionally, the regulations have prioritized making structures either earthquake resistant or cheap to replace after one, at the expense of fire resistance. If you want to build using concrete and I-beams, my understanding is that the foundation and reinforcement requirements in California are such that doing so is only economically viable for high rises. Timber frame is used for pretty much everything else.