The iconic Getty Center and Getty Villa remain “safe and stable,” according to Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J. Paul Getty Trust, as surrounding evacuation orders related to the Palisades Fire were downgraded to warnings.
“The evacuation level at the center has been downgraded to level two, 'stand by' instead of 'go,' and we have been told the winds have moved away from the site, but the situation is still very fluid,” Fleming said. A statement issued shortly after 6 p.m
This news comes after an update yesterday, where officials at the J. Paul Getty Trust said the center near Brentwood and a villa in the Pacific Palisades area remained intact amid the wildfires.
“It's been a calm but thankfully calm night here at the Getty Centre. We've been told to expect stronger winds later in the day and are monitoring the situation closely. Our galleries are safe and protected. Aside from a few hot spots, the villa remains stable.
When the Palisades fire began on Jan. 7, the villa — a popular resort of a sprawling ancient Roman estate built in 1974 — was so threatened, that footage from the area showed flames consuming the mountainside in the museum gallery.
Meanwhile, the center — a multi-building modernist art museum located on a hilltop near UCLA, which has housed paintings by Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Manet since 1997 — was threatened later on January 10, as wildfires pushed a major advance towards… the East. Bypassing the Santa Monica Mountain Range and threatening the San Fernando Valley.
That prompted a new mandatory evacuation order for the area from Sunset Boulevard to Encino Reservoir, and from Interstate 405 west to Mandeville Canyon, with portions of the road remaining closed to stave off excess traffic in the West Los Angeles area. Since then, some evacuation orders have been downgraded or lifted entirely at both the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, including the area west of North Sepulveda Boulevard and I-405, which was relaxed to warning level.
The Palisades Fire is still burning at more than 23,000 acres with 13% containment, while the Eaton Fire across the city is at 14,000 acres with 27% containment. The death toll currently stands at 24.
