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Greg B · 10-31-2003, 06:25 PM

From collectorsclub:

STUFF OF DREAMS GOES UP IN SMOKE AT CALIFORNIA MOVIE RANCH!

Some 50 years of film and television history went up in smoke this weekend when fire ripped across the 7,000-acre Big Sky Movie Ranch north of Simi Valley.

Only ashen timbers, charred metal and thousands of memories remain of old sets scattered around the hillsides that have been home to countless productions, from "Gunsmoke" to "Fear Factor."

For ranch managers and filming coordinators Don and Debra Early, who live on the property, the loss is deeply personal. Until Mother Nature brings back the landscape, the couple believes it is doubtful there will be a big demand for filming on the crispy hillsides. Ranching will not be feasible until fences are mended and grassy meadows return with spring rains.

"I think we are going to be out of business for at least a year," Debra Early, 47, said during a tour of the property. Don Early is 64.

The situation was the same for other Ventura County film locations damaged by the fire, said Dan Price, who processes film permits for the county. Piru has long been a popular spot with movie producers, as have unincorporated areas near Moorpark.

But Big Sky Ranch clearly suffered the most tangible damage. Sunburned from hours of scouring hills and valleys to tally the losses, Debra Early took a philosophical approach to the situation.

"You can look forward, or you can look backward," she said, surveying the land she has lovingly tended for 20 years. "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is by choice."

The losses at the ranch strike a historical blow to the community as well. Among the cluster of burned barns sat a ranch house known as the cookhouse, which was a designated historical Ventura County landmark. The house's loss also displaced one of the couple's sons, who had lived there.

News of the charred remnants of movie sets has been met with disappointment in the community, particularly the end of the struggling homestead featured in the long-running television series "Little House in the Prairie."

"It is a total, devastating loss," said Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Leigh Nixon. "That is one of the things Simi was known for."

Early said fans of the show, which is still in syndication, come from as far away as Italy and France asking to see the Ingalls' "homestead" and the set of the small farm town called Walnut Grove depicted on the show.

While the original Ingalls home from the set had been removed when the show ended, crews had rebuilt an exact replica.

10-31-2003, 06:25 PM
Greg B So Fucking Banned Join Date: Jul 2001 Location: EARTH (for the time being) Posts: 7,014	CA Fires... Historic movie/tv sets gone...Little House On The Prairie set gone... From collectorsclub: STUFF OF DREAMS GOES UP IN SMOKE AT CALIFORNIA MOVIE RANCH! Some 50 years of film and television history went up in smoke this weekend when fire ripped across the 7,000-acre Big Sky Movie Ranch north of Simi Valley. Only ashen timbers, charred metal and thousands of memories remain of old sets scattered around the hillsides that have been home to countless productions, from "Gunsmoke" to "Fear Factor." For ranch managers and filming coordinators Don and Debra Early, who live on the property, the loss is deeply personal. Until Mother Nature brings back the landscape, the couple believes it is doubtful there will be a big demand for filming on the crispy hillsides. Ranching will not be feasible until fences are mended and grassy meadows return with spring rains. "I think we are going to be out of business for at least a year," Debra Early, 47, said during a tour of the property. Don Early is 64. The situation was the same for other Ventura County film locations damaged by the fire, said Dan Price, who processes film permits for the county. Piru has long been a popular spot with movie producers, as have unincorporated areas near Moorpark. But Big Sky Ranch clearly suffered the most tangible damage. Sunburned from hours of scouring hills and valleys to tally the losses, Debra Early took a philosophical approach to the situation. "You can look forward, or you can look backward," she said, surveying the land she has lovingly tended for 20 years. "Pain is inevitable, but suffering is by choice." The losses at the ranch strike a historical blow to the community as well. Among the cluster of burned barns sat a ranch house known as the cookhouse, which was a designated historical Ventura County landmark. The house's loss also displaced one of the couple's sons, who had lived there. News of the charred remnants of movie sets has been met with disappointment in the community, particularly the end of the struggling homestead featured in the long-running television series "Little House in the Prairie." "It is a total, devastating loss," said Simi Valley Chamber of Commerce Chief Executive Officer Leigh Nixon. "That is one of the things Simi was known for." Early said fans of the show, which is still in syndication, come from as far away as Italy and France asking to see the Ingalls' "homestead" and the set of the small farm town called Walnut Grove depicted on the show. While the original Ingalls home from the set had been removed when the show ended, crews had rebuilt an exact replica.