Preventing the Getty Museum from Burning: Why Didn’t Karen Bass Take Similar Steps?

Most of the Pacific Palisades has succumbed to fire and destruction due to the California wildfires, but the Getty Museum remains intact thanks to a proactive strategy.

The museum’s successful defense against the fire raises questions about why similar tactics weren’t employed by Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass to safeguard properties and land.

Bass faces calls for resignation in light of the wildfire emergency, as reports emerge that firefighters struggled to access adequate water resources to combat the blazes, finding empty hydrants along the way.

She slashed the LA Fire Department’s budget by $17.6million in 2024 after being talked down from $23million in cuts, and officials ignored warnings about the threat of fire.

Getty Trust President and Chief Executive Katherine E. Fleming told the LA Times staff sprung to action as soon as they were aware of a heightened risk of fire.

Irrigation was immediately deployed across the grounds on Tuesday morning, and within minutes of the first sign of fire, small valves which regulate airflow throughout the museum were switched off along with the air conditioning.

Beyond the efforts taken on the day of the fires to mitigate the risk, Getty staff have been preparing for fires for the past year and beyond. 

Ground crews have been conducting extensive brush clearing regularly over the past 12 months, and all landscaping that could have been susceptible to fire was pruned. 

Tree canopies were well off the ground and any low-lying brush was thinned as much as possible.

While most of the Pacific Palisades has been reduced to ash and rubble after it was caught in the path of the devastating California wildfires, the iconic Getty Museum is still standing after implementing a simple routine

Irrigation was immediately deployed across the grounds on Tuesday morning, and within minutes of the first sign of fire, small valves which regulate airflow throughout the museum were switched off along with the air conditioning 

Fleming credits some of the success – but not all – to luck.

‘We did get lucky in some ways, and people were rushing around,’ she said.

‘But there were also a lot of people who were really thoughtful about this over a long period of time, and I think that clearly paid off for us.’ 

And while it may have been considered lucky if the winds changed and sent the fire spiraling in a different direction, flames were literally licking at the gates of the iconic institution.

‘Some trees and vegetation on site have burned, but no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe,’ a statement from Getty read on Tuesday night.

Extraordinary photo and video from Tuesday night captured the moment fire descended upon Getty, sparking fears for the 44,000 artworks and artefacts.

The fire started at 10.30am in Palisades brush. By 10.45am, the airflow throughout the building was regulated and by 11.04am staff had sealed all the museum doors.

By 11.15am the smoke was overwhelming, and five minutes later they opted to entirely close the Villa.

Pacific Palisades has been all but wiped out from the devastating inferno

LA Fire Chief Kristin Crowley believes the fire started accidentally in a back garden around 10am Tuesday morning

A woman looks on at the charred remains of her neighborhood, wearing a mask due to heavy smoke

A man douses pockets of fire with water after his home was incinerated

Some 20 minutes later at 11.40am, security did a final sweep of the grounds to ensure the only staff remaining on site were the emergency skeleton crew.

Just three hours later, the fire had reached the far perimeter wall and then at 3.15pm bushes near the outdoor theatre went up in flames.

Fleming recalls it looked ‘really bright and fiery’ for a few minutes, and then the fire self extinguished. 

She later realized it was a bed of rosemary that had caught alight.

‘And lo and behold, just like if you sprinkle a bunch of rosemary on a pizza and put it under the broiler and it crackles and sparkles, and then very rapidly goes out,’ Fleming said.

Getty was not yet out of danger, and at 3.59pm another fire took hold at the pedestrian gate.

In another preventative measure, Getty Villa had additional water storage on-site which security staff were able to use to extinguish the flames. It took just six minutes.

Even if the fire had breached the grounds, the museum is double-walled, built using fire resistant limestone, cement and steel. The rooftops built with crushed stone to ensure embers have nothing to ignite on.

California Governor Gavin Newsom and Bass tour the downtown business district of Pacific Palisades on Wednesday 

Debris from burned houses is seen in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood

Beyond the efforts taken on the day of the fires to mitigate the risk, Getty staff have been preparing for fires for the past year and beyond

Back in 2019, then vice-president of communications for the Getty Trust Lisa Lapin said: ‘We think about fire prevention 24/7.’ 

The fire has now burned through more than 17,200 acres, and the nearby Eaton fire has destroyed another 10,200 acres. Both are at zero percent containment. Other, smaller fires are now more under control. 

Mayor Bass held a press conference on Thursday amid calls for her to resign, instead stating: ‘Rest assured, when we are safe, when lives have been saved, we will absolutely do an evaluation to look at what worked, what didn’t work, and to correct or hold accountable any body, department, individual.’

Scores of A-listers have taken to their social media accounts to hit out at Bass and the city over the response to the fires. 

Sarah Michelle Geller said on her Instagram: ‘City of LA you want everyone to evacuate yet you have complete gridlock and not one traffic cop on the roads helping.’

Actress Sara Foster added: ‘We pay the highest taxes in California. Our fire hydrants were empty. 

‘Our vegetation was overgrown, brush not cleared. Our reservoirs were emptied by our governor because tribal leaders wanted to save fish. 

‘Our fire department budget was cut by our mayor. But thank god drug addicts are getting their drug kits. RESIGN. Your far left policies have ruined our state. And also our party.’

Actor James Woods also blasted the mayor, blaming her and California Governor Gavin Newsom for the fire.

‘This fire is not from ‘climate change,’ you ignorant asshole. It’s because liberal idiots like you elect liberal idiots like Gavin Newsom and Karen Bass. 

‘One doesn’t understand the first thing about fire management and the other can’t fill the water reservoirs’, he wrote.