The iconic Eames House, Getty Villa, and other Los Angeles landmarks are at risk of destruction following a series of fires that have ravaged Southern California since Tuesday. As of publication time, five confirmed casualties have been reported and evacuation order were put in place for nearly 130,000 residents. California governor Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency and warned that the blaze could continue for days. “By no stretch of the imagination are we out of the woods,” he said.
The fire started around 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Two other fires, named the Eaton fire and Hurst fire, ignited later in the day, impacting Altadena and Sylmar, respectively. On Wednesday, two more fires ignited, the Sunset Fire in Hollywood Hills and the Lidia Fire near Acton. According to officials, more than 2,000 homes, business, and buildings have been destroyed, and around 13,000 structures across the Los Angeles area are at risk.
“The fire is being fueled by a combination of strong Santa Ana wind and surrounding topography, which makes it extremely challenging for us firefighters to get a handle on it because we dealt with wind gusts up to 100 miles per hour last night,” Erik Scott, a firefighter and the Public Information Officer for the Los Angeles Fire Department, said in a video posted on X on Wednesday. “Our priority is life and structure defense.”
What buildings have been affected by the Palisades fires?
As Scott detailed, protecting life is the most important, while structural integrity is also paramount. Below, the current status of a number of local landmarks.
The Getty Villa
Katherine E. Fleming, president and CEO of the J Paul Getty Trust, confirmed in a statement on Tuesday evening that the fire had reached the museum’s grounds, but that staff and collections remained safe. “Museum galleries and library archives were sealed off from smoke by state-of-the-art air-handling systems. The double-walled construction of galleries also provides significant protection for the collections,” Fleming said. As of Wednesday morning, the structure remained safe, according to a statement shared on Instagram.
