The wildfires devastating Los Angeles will force Universal Studios Hollywood to shut down Wednesday.
The NBCUniversal-owned theme park intends to reopen Thursday, if weather conditions allow.
“Universal Studios Hollywood and Universal CityWalk will be closed today as a result of the extreme winds and fire conditions,” according to a statement posted to its website. “We will continue to assess the situation and expect to open for business tomorrow. The safety of our team members and our guests is our top priority.”
Closures of Universal Hollywood are a rare occurrence (the longest closure continues to be during the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020), though fires are a perpetual threat in southern California. Disneyland, located in Anaheim, is not impacted by the fires as of now.
Closures are more common for the Universal and Disney parks in Florida, where Hurricanes can force temporary shutdowns.
A freak windstorm sparked the fires in Pacific Palisades Tuesday, forcing tens of thousands of residents to evacuate. Among the buildings destroyed was the Palisades Charter High School.
A number of high-profile figures, including Mark Hamill and Eugene Levy are among those that have fled their homes.
The fires forced a number of events scheduled to be held in the city This week to be canceled, including Amazon MGM Studios’ Unstoppable, starring Jennifer Lopez, Universal’s Wolf Man, starring Julia Garner and Christopher Abbott, and Paramount Pictures’ Better Man; as well as screenings for Netflix’s Emilia Peréz, Sony Pictures Classics’ I’m Still Here.
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