Los Angeles, how the Getty Villa escaped the fires: minor damage to the museum

Despite the loss of as many as three museums that were destroyed during the Los Angeles wildfires that have already claimed eleven lives, injured several people, 180,000 people evacuated, more than 13,000 buildings destroyed, and damage for now estimated at $10 billion, there is one museum that, despite being lapped by the flames, managed to save itself: it is the Getty Villa, one of the Getty Museum’s locations. The villa is located right in Pacific Palisades, the neighborhood most affected by the fires: inside, the villa that was owned by wealthy oil tycoon Paul Getty, and whose structure is inspired by the Villa of the Papyri in Herculaneum, houses the museum’s collection of antiquities , including the celebrated Athlete of Fano at the center of a dispute with Italy (and which, according to the European Court of Human Rights, the Getty must return to Italy).

The park surrounding the Getty was damaged last January 8, when it was affected by the fire (several trees burned and vegetation devastated by the flames), but the facilities were not affected and both staff and collections were saved. How was this possible? The Getty, the same institution explained, had performed work to clear the surrounding area of vegetation as part of its year-round fire mitigation efforts. Southern California’s particularly arid climate (especially this year: as a result of climate change, rainfall has been greatly reduced, and there has been very little rain over Los Angeles since last June, a situation that has produced a long drought and dried up the vegetation) in fact favors the spread of wildfires, which also spread as a result of the dry vegetation: forest fires are common in these parts, although the level of devastation this year had never been reached.

Additional fire prevention measures in place at the Getty Villa involved storing water on site. Irrigation was therefore immediately distributed to parts of the grounds Tuesday morning when the museum was threatened by flames. Still, the museum’s galleries and library archives were sealed from smoke by state-of-the-art air treatment systems. In addition, the double-walled construction of the galleries also provides significant protection for the collections.

On Tuesday, the Villa was immediately closed to the public and staff not engaged in emergency operations (sixteen museum employees in all remained in the facility, and a fire engine also responded to the scene), and the doors will remain locked until Jan. 16. “We, of course, are very concerned for our neighbors in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the surrounding areas,” Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the Getty Trust. “We deeply appreciate the tireless work and dedication of the City of Los Angeles Fire Department, Los Angeles County Fire Department and other agencies, as well as the small team of Getty staff who remained on-site at the Villa to support emergency response efforts. We again express our sincere concern to our neighbors in Pacific Palisades, Malibu and the surrounding areas affected by the fires.” The Getty Villa ultimately lost part of the grounds and a perimeter wall that was completely destroyed by the flames. Minor damage, in short, compared to the devastation around the museum.

Los Angeles, how the Getty Villa escaped the fires: minor damage to the museum

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