A massive fire raged on a back lot at Universal Studios yesterday, devouring several movie sets including mock-ups of the streets of New York and New England.

There were no immediate reports of injuries.

Los Angeles County fire Inspector Daryl Jacobs said at least one building had burned and as many as three blocks of movie facades were destroyed. Though the fire was contained, it was still raging, Mr Jacobs said.

“The facades are constructed of heavy timber and they tend to burn quite freely,” he said.

Also destroyed was the studio's King Kong attraction, a stop on the studio’s tram tour where the giant ape bellows at passengers and artificial banana scent fills the area.

The blaze broke out just before dawn on a sound stage at Universal City, which bills itself as the world's largest motion picture studio. A thick column of smoke rose thousands of feet into the air. For a time, firefighting helicopters swept in to drop water.

At least 200 firefighters were deployed trying to prevent the flames from spreading to nearby brush.

A Universal Studios spokesman said that the studio's theme park would open today as scheduled, although visitor activities would be affected. He said that filming was going on when the fire broke out.

Universal Studios is located nine miles north of central Los Angeles and has thrill rides and a back lot where movies and television shows are filmed. Some of the more familiar attractions on the back lot are the clock tower from the “Back To The Future" movies and the house featured in “Psycho”.

The LA Times quoted a city councillor, Tom LaBonge, who raced to the scene early in the morning.

"Firefighters are handing out the film cannisters. It's very sad," Mr LaBonge said. "Ever since the movies came to Hollywood, there have been studio fires. And this is a big one."

"It's like a movie set, a disaster film," he aded. "And it's sad because of all of the people who come here, who work here."

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