Getty Center, Villa Remain “Safe And Stable” As Some Evacuation Levels Downgraded

The renowned Getty Center and Getty Villa remain “safe and stable,” according to Katherine E. Fleming, president and chief executive officer of the J. Paul Getty Trust, as the surrounding evacuation orders related to the Palisades Fire have been downgraded to warnings.

“The evacuation level at the center has been reduced to Level 2, ‘get ready’ as opposed to ‘go,’ and we have been told the winds have shifted away from the site, but the situation remains highly fluid,” Fleming said in a statement issued shortly after 6 p.m.

This news comes after the latest update yesterday, where officials with the J. Paul Getty Trust said the Center near Brentwood and Villa in the Pacific Palisades both remained intact amid the wildfires.

“It was a watchful but fortunately uneventful night up here at the Getty Center. We’ve been told to anticipate stronger winds later in the day and are closely monitoring the situation. Our galleries are safe and protected. Aside from a few hot spots, the Villa remains stable,” they said previously.

When the Palisades blaze began Jan. 7, the Villa — the famed recreation of a sprawling ancient Roman estate built in 1974 — was significantly threatened, with shots from the area showing flames licking up the mountainside of the museum gallery.

Meanwhile, the Center — a modern multi-structure art museum perched atop the hills near UCLA and that has housed paintings by Van Gogh, Rembrandt and Manet since 1997 — was threatened later on Jan. 10, as the wildfire made a significant push eastward, getting over the ridge of the Santa Monica Mountains and threatening the San Fernando Valley.

That triggered a new mandatory evacuation order for an area from Sunset Boulevard to Encino Reservoir, and from the 405 Freeway west to Mandeville Canyon, with sections of the thoroughfare remaining closed to ward off excess traffic in the West Los Angeles area. Since then, some evacuation orders have been downgraded or lifted completely across both the Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire, including for the area to the west of North Sepulveda Boulevard and I-405, which has been lessened to a warning.

The Palisades Fire remains at over 23,000 acres burned with 13% containment, while the across-town Eaton Fire is at 14,000 with 27% containment. The death toll currently stands at 24.