You've likely seen this ranch on-screen \u2014 burned by wildfire, it awaits its next act

Paramount Ranch, a frontier western town built as a movie set that appeared in countless movies and TV shows, was decimated by the Woolsey fire in Agoura Hills, Calif., in November 2018. Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP hide caption

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Paramount Ranch, a frontier western town built as a movie set that appeared in countless movies and TV shows, was decimated by the Woolsey fire in Agoura Hills, Calif., in November 2018.

Marcio Jose Sanchez/AP

in the Santa Monica Mountains west of Los Angeles served as a backdrop for movies and TV shows for nearly a century, from starring Mae West in 1936, to the hit sci-fi drama series , shot around 80 years later.

One of the most famous parts of the Ranch was Western Town. The purpose-built setting for movie and TV production dating back to the 1950s had dirt streets and quaint wooden buildings including a hotel, mercantile and saloon.

"You basically walked in and it was ready to shoot," said Amelia Brooke, a Hollywood art director whose credits include . "You can focus on the story that you're telling, as opposed to all of the money that you're sinking into the surrounding sets."

, is being rebuilt to be functional while being able to withstand the perils of future climate change-driven disasters.

Brooke shared fond memories of working at the ranch on a Wild West-themed episode of the comedy series . The art director said she particularly appreciated how the public could stop by anytime to watch the TV and filmmaking process in action.

"Everything that we create is for an audience," Brooke said. "So having an audience be able to easily access Western Town was really special."

When Brooke learned Western Town won't be rebuilt she was understandably upset.

"I was like, 'well, we can't go back and do that again,' " Brooke said.

Horses are spooked by the Woolsey Fire near Paramount Ranch on Nov. 9, 2018, in Agoura Hills, Calif. Matthew Simmons/Getty Images hide caption

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Horses are spooked by the Woolsey Fire near Paramount Ranch on Nov. 9, 2018, in Agoura Hills, Calif.

Matthew Simmons/Getty Images

Rebuilding the past for the future

In August, the Biden Administration in funds to prepare and strengthen the country's national park system for climate change. Global warming brought on primarily by the burning of fossil fuels is causing increasing levels of devastation to cultural heritage. The National Park Service, which is charged with caring for these landmarks, is having to make difficult decisions about what to save — and what to let go.

The National Park Service is currently rebuilding parts of Paramount Ranch, with a goal to bring film and TV shoots back to the location by 2025. Earlier this month, construction crews started work at the site.

A sign at the Paramount Ranch explains the recovery efforts. NPS hide caption

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A sign at the Paramount Ranch explains the recovery efforts.

NPS

Rockman, who served as the National Park Service's climate change adaptation coordinator for cultural resources for seven years until 2018, said there are various ways to plan for the future of cultural heritage in the face of human-caused climate change, from moving a landmark out of harm's way to making a deliberate choice to do nothing about it.

"It's not just benign neglect," Rockman said. "But it's saying, 'We have looked at what the vulnerability of this place is. And it would take so many resources to try to hold back whatever forces are happening. We are going to let it go.' "

" program at the University of Florida, which uses 3D digital imaging tools to document and preserve historic environments.

"We're much more focused on cultural memory and other values today, and perhaps less on material authenticity," Hylton said.

Western Town is not coming back

At Paramount Ranch, superintendent Szymanski said he's had to get comfortable with different outcomes.

"We've been pretty choosy about what we rebuild, and not replacing everything," Szymanski said.

Davis Szymanski is park superintendent at the Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area. Chloe Veltman/NPR hide caption

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Congress appropriated $22 million worth of disaster relief funds in 2019 for the rehabilitation work at the site. That money only goes so far. Szymanski said the agency has had to make some tough — and even unpopular — decisions, including choosing not to bring Western Town back.

Only two of Western Town's structures survived the Woolsey Fire: the little chapel from and the train depot built for the 1990s western TV drama .

The National Park Service said it's not planning to rebuild these structures if they get taken out next time there's a fire. But they will live on in the many films and TV shows that were shot at Paramount Ranch.