Paramount Ranch's Western Town to be rebuilt following the Woolsey Fire ... also photos of the "M*A*S*H" set at Malibu Creek State Park before and after the fire

The Paramount Project: A plan is taking shape to rebuild the Paramount Ranch Western Town

A little good news as the incredibly destructive Woolsey Fire appears to finally be winding down. The National Park Service announced plans to rebuild the Western Town at Paramount Ranch, which was destroyed by the fire.

Paramount Ranch welcome sign, with the remains of the old horse barn in the background

The Park Service plans to complete the project within two years. They've set up a "Paramount Project" site where people who want to support the rebuilding can help with donations, which you can go to by clicking here.

The town site was opened to reporters on Friday, Nov. 16, one week after the worst of the fire, and someone propped up a photo of the "General Store" during filming, in front of what is now the ruins of the building.

The church from HBO's "Westworld" — one of the few surviving structures on the Paramount Ranch

"Westworld," which filmed its first two seasons at the ranch's Western Town, has been a hit for HBO and would be expected back to film season three. But reconstruction of the town — which I understand will be done with added fire protections built in — would take too long for HBO's normal production schedule.

The "Westworld" church in happier times — not long before the fire.

One media report I saw indicated that a temporary set may be put up while the longer-term construction is under way, but it was unclear whether that set might be used for "Westworld."

The Paramount Ranch Western Town: before the destruction

As many readers already know — especially if you saw my previous post about all the fire damage — the Western Town was a complete loss. Everything you see in this photo burned to the ground.

House where the park administrator and family lived

Sadly, a number of park rangers and other employees of Paramount Ranch lost their homes in the fire. One of the park administrators reportedly lived in the house where the red arrow is pointing.

The administrator's house, seen on the left here, was a part of the Western Town set. When I took this photo back in 2010, the building next door was dressed up as a "Mining Equipment" store..

The burned "M*A*S*H" set at Malibu Creek State Park (photo courtesy of Mike Malone)

Just across the Mulholland Highway from Paramount Ranch, Malibu Creek State Park to the south was also hit hard by the fire. The site's best-known attraction, the "M*A*S*H" set, is now part of an apocalyptic landscape.

Closeup of the Jeep at the "M*A*S*H" set

The old "M*A*S*H" Jeep is in bad shape, but that's basically the same shape it was in even before the fire. It still has dry brush underneath it, a good indication that the fire missed it.

The Jeep as it appeared in May 2018

I happened to take a shot of the Jeep when I visited the site back in May, and yeah, it was pretty much already a wreck. The soon-to-be dry brush was green at that time, though.

The fun sign pointing out distances from Korea to places like Toledo is charred and almost impossible to read now.

This is what the sign looked like back in May, near the old "M*A*S*H" truck.

Here's a closeup of the sign as it appeared in May — anyone headed to Decatur?

"B-362": Female bobcat collared two days before the Woolsey Fire

The Woolsey Fire has been tough on wildlife in the parks and surrounding hills, but a number of bobcats appear to have survived. The Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area announced last week that all four of the big cats being tracked in the area — including the latest addition, "B-362" — have been on the move.

The organization has been keeping readers updated on its Twitter page. Above is the tweet that went out Nov. 15 along with the photo of B-362, indicating concern about one of the big cats.

Mike Malone points out fire-damaged areas on a map for the media

Several readers asked about longtime Paramount Ranch Park Ranger Mike Malone, a great supporter of the park, film historian extraordinaire and an all-around awesome guy. I am happy to report that Mike's home did not burn down and he's settled back in, resuming his movie research and focused on the ranch's rebuilding effort.