President and CEO of the Getty Trust said that some “trees and vegetation on site” of the Getty Villa Museum have burned from the wide-spreading Pacific Palisades fire Tuesday.
Katherine E. Fleming added that the staff and art collection at The Villa “remain safe.”
“Additional fire prevention measures in place at the Villa include water storage on-site,” Fleming said in a statement Tuesday. “Irrigation was immediately deployed throughout the grounds Tuesday morning. Museum galleries and library archives were sealed off from smoke by state-of-the-art air handling systems. The double-walled construction of the galleries also provides significant protection for the collections.”
noo i’m actually going to cry… the amount of ancient art and artifacts at the getty villa. it’s such a beautiful and iconic museum. i hope they’re able to save it🙏🙏 pic.twitter.com/9BbqA2wJIi
— 🍁 (@noracharlieluv) January 8, 2025
The president and CEO also noted that Getty has made intentional efforts to clear brush from the surrounding area as part of its fire mitigation efforts throughout the past year.
The Villa holds 44,000 Greek, Roman, and Etruscan antiquities dating from 6,500 BC to 400 AD within a re-created Roman country home.
The Getty Villa will remain closed to the public through at least Monday.
