The Southern California Palisades Fire, which has ravaged the communities of Malibu and Pacific Palisades, burning 19,978 acres so far, is now eight percent contained. Firefighters continue to fight the blaze while officials assess the damage.
Amazingly enough, the Getty Villa will not be among the wreckage. Its buildings and the paintings, treasures, and antiquities they house survived the flames, everything intact.
The Getty Villa, the museum built by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty and home to thousands of priceless antiquities, activated its emergency operations center in response to the fast-moving Palisades fire at 10:40 a.m. Tuesday. At 11:44 a.m., fire could be seen over the ridge, less than one mile away. By 12:27, flames had reached the property.
Fast-moving, wildly unpredictable and catastrophic in the damage it caused along a vast swath of prime…
