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Wildfire evacuations extend to Getty Center, one of Los Angeles’ premier museums

Umito
Wildfire evacuations extend to Getty Center, one of Los Angeles’ premier museums

As Wildfires continue to ravage Los Angelesthe latest evacuation warnings Saturday afternoon were for the Getty Center, which houses one of the city’s most prized art collections.

The evacuation warning in Brentwood, a neighborhood west of the 405 Freeway, comes just days after the museum’s other campus, the Getty Villa, was destroyed. line of fire. The Getty Center and the Getty Villa are closed until at least January 16.

As of Saturday morning, the center was “complying” with evacuation alerts and was closed, “with only emergency personnel on site,” museum representative Alexandria Sivak told the USA TODAY Network.

Here’s what to know about the Getty Center as explosive wildfires burn across the Los Angeles area.

Live wildfire updates: Los Angeles’ Largest Fire Grows Again Saturday; authorities are investigating the cause

An aerial image shows fire and smoke behind the Getty Center Museum from wildfires, including the Palisades Fire, as the sun sets over Los Angeles, California, January 8, 2025.An aerial image shows fire and smoke behind the Getty Center Museum from wildfires, including the Palisades Fire, as the sun sets over Los Angeles, California, January 8, 2025.

An aerial image shows fire and smoke behind the Getty Center Museum from wildfires, including the Palisades Fire, as the sun sets over Los Angeles, California, January 8, 2025.

What is the Getty Center?

Opened in 1997, the Getty Center is home to several parts of the Getty Trust, including a museum, a library, and dozens of acres of gardens.

The museum features an extensive collection of European paintings, drawings, sculptures and other rotating exhibits. Among the museum’s most valuable works of art are “Iris.“

Projection works are on display during the Getty Prize 2024 at the Getty Center on May 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.Projection works are on display during the Getty Prize 2024 at the Getty Center on May 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Projection works are on display during the Getty Prize 2024 at the Getty Center on May 13, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.

Is the Getty Center fireproof?

Designed with wildfire prevention in mind, Getty has already called the Getty Center “the safest place for art in case of fire.”

When a 600-acre fire broke out around the center in October 2019, the museum said there was no need to evacuate its works because they were safe inside the campus.

“We have a very important building here,” Mike Rogers, the museum’s director of facilities, said in the 2019 article. “It was well thought out and carefully constructed, and it is maintained and operated with great care. I’m very proud of it, and of our incredible team, we feel very safe here.

Guests attend the 29th Annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Celebration presented by Ralph Lauren, Amyris and Lexus at the Getty Center on October 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.Guests attend the 29th Annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Celebration presented by Ralph Lauren, Amyris and Lexus at the Getty Center on October 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

Guests attend the 29th Annual ELLE Women in Hollywood Celebration presented by Ralph Lauren, Amyris and Lexus at the Getty Center on October 17, 2022 in Los Angeles, California.

The center’s buildings are made of protected fire-resistant stone, concrete and steel, and the roof is covered with fire-resistant stone aggregate. The buildings also include fire separations so that doors can isolate specific areas of the campus in the event of a fire.

Outside, drought-tolerant plants and an extensive irrigation system provide an extra layer of defense.

Is the Getty Villa safe from fires?

The Getty Villa Art Museum is threatened by flames from the wind-driven Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brush fire in a Los Angeles suburb has burned buildings and triggered evacuations on Tuesday while "life-threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) burned in Pacific Palisades, an upscale spot with multimillion-dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, closing a key highway and blanketing the area in thick smoke.The Getty Villa Art Museum is threatened by flames from the wind-driven Palisades Fire in Pacific Palisades, California, January 7, 2025. A fast-moving brush fire in a Los Angeles suburb has burned buildings and triggered evacuations on Tuesday while "life-threatening" winds whipped the region. More than 200 acres (80 hectares) burned in Pacific Palisades, an upscale spot with multimillion-dollar homes in the Santa Monica Mountains, closing a key highway and blanketing the area in thick smoke.

As of January 10, staff, artwork and buildings at the Getty Villa have been safe from fire, according to a report. statement on the museum’s Instagram page.

The fires burned trees and vegetation on the museum grounds, but museum officials said this week they made significant “fire mitigation efforts” to protect the collection. The villa sits off the Pacific Coast Highway in the Pacific Palisades area, which has seen the worst wildfires.

“We are of course very concerned for our neighbors in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the surrounding areas,” Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, which operates the museum, said in a statement. earlier this week. “Fortunately, Getty has made considerable efforts to clear the surrounding area as part of its year-round fire mitigation efforts.”

This article was originally published on USATNetwork: Getty Center included in latest evacuation warning as fires hit Los Angeles