Established in 1954 by oil tycoon J. Paul Getty, the museum opened in 1974 as a replica of the Villa dei Papiri at Herculaneum (located in what is now southern Italy). The Getty Vila is home to more than 44,000 objects dedicated to ancient art, per the Los Angeles Times, including Roman, Greek, and Etruscan antiquities.

The Getty Villa, which is already closed to the public on Tuesdays, was “swiftly closed” to non-emergency staff after the fire started in the morning.

The fast-moving Palisades fire raced through brush and trees at the iconic Getty Villa by the Pacific Ocean on Tuesday, but the building and its contents did not burn, fire and Getty officials said. “Fortunately,