Riverside City Fire Department
A Riverside City Firefighter finishes knocking down a blaze inside a screen at the Van Buren Drive-In Theater.
A fire broke out at the Van Buren Drive-In Theater in Riverside, California on Sept. 11, causing smoke damage to one of the three screens, according to Riverside Fire Department. The fire started in a storage area and there were no injuries reported. The cause of the fire was undetermined according to Firefighter Battalion Chief Garrett Coyle.
The damaged screen will require cleaning before it can be used again, according to an employee.
Three engines carrying 12 firefighters were deployed and and contained the fire to the storage area within the screen. The fire was contained by 11:45 a.m.
The cause of the fire is undetermined, according to the department.
Despite the incident, the theater remained open with only two of its screens operational. The Van Buren Drive-In Theater, a landmark in Riverside, opened in 1964 on the site of a former orange ranch. It was expanded to three screens in 1975, offering a special and nostalgic movie watching experience.
There are just over 400 active drive-in theaters remaining in the country, according to the theater’s website.
Patrons began lining up outside the theater around 7 p.m. and the theater began letting them in at 8 p.m.