Los Angeles is in the grip of five different wildfires that have burned hundreds of acres, thousands of structures, and taken at least five lives.
More than 180,000 people in the greater Los Angeles area are under evacuation orders, and many more have had their lives disrupted as they wait for updates about the next danger zone. Unfortunately, officials say that the Santa Ana winds, which have allowed the fire to spread quickly, are expected to remain an issue in the coming days, and rain is not expected in the short-term forecast.
Companies around the city are scrambling to figure out how they can best support workers right now. Some residents, including Hollywood celebrities, have lost their homes. For several films and television series, production is now on hold. Employees across the greater metropolitan area are glued to apocalyptic news reports.
Paramount Global, whose West Coast offices and Paramount Pictures studios are in central Los Angeles, is a few miles away from the Hollywood Hills Sunset Fire that sprang up on Wednesday night.
The Fortune 500 entertainment giant is set to merge with David Ellison’s Skydance Media this year, pending regulatory approval of its $8 billion deal.
Right now, Paramount’s iconic property at 5555 Melrose Avenue isn’t in the immediate vicinity of the large Pasadena and Eaton fires, but smoke from those blazes has filled the air of Los Angeles, leading to exceptionally poor air quality.
Paramount Global’s offices are open today, but all studio tours have been canceled and employees in the area have been encouraged to work at home or from a safe space. The Los Angeles premiere of Better Man, a Paramount film starring British pop star Robbie Williams, was among many industry events that were called off on Wednesday. The company is conducting welfare checks on employees, and making resources available to those who need them.
CBS Studios’ offices are not in or near an evacuation zone, but it has also paused productions today in light of the disaster and its potential impact on cast and crew members. (Paramount Global is CBS Studios’ parent company.)
In a memo to employees viewed by Fortune, Paramount Global’s three CEOs wrote: “We are prioritizing support for employees and our news crews who are heroically covering these events.” Although the company suggested employees work remotely, it also urged employees to prioritize their safety and that of their loved ones.
A historic property
Thousands of Hollywood movies and television programs have been filmed on the Paramount Pictures lot, known for its landmark water tower featured in the company’s logo.
Some of the top-grossing movies filmed at the site include blockbusters like Transformers, Star Trek, and Spider-Man franchises, as well as classics like Forrest Gump, Ghost, and The Truman Show, according to the film data website IMDB. Beloved television series like Cheers, Matlock, and Veep, are among the hundreds that were made there.
Fire has destroyed the century-old company’s property in the past, including in 1929, when a new sound stage was destroyed, sending flames into the sky that were visible for miles. In 1983, an arsonist started a blaze that eventually led to the loss of several historic film sets, including that of The Godfather.
The current fires are expected to cause at least $50 billion in damages to homes and businesses across Los Angeles.
