Los Angeles wildfire threatens Getty Center museum.
Even the stars, including LeBron James, evacuate as blaze rages out of control
A fast-moving early morning wildfire along Interstate 405 in Los Angeles has forced thousands of people, including basketball star LeBron James and his family, to evacuate, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The Getty Fire broke out at 1:30 a.m. near the Getty Center museum, KABC reported. It has burned 500 acres and forced evacuations at 10,000 homes in Brentwood, Mountain Gate and Mandeville Canyon.
James posted on Twitter early Monday that his family is among the evacuees, calling California wildfires “no joke.”
Other famous evacuees include “Avengers” star Clark Gregg and “Sons of Anarchy” creator Kurt Sutter, Variety reported.
Actor and former California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger wrote on Twitter that he also fled the flames.
“We evacuated safely at 3:30 this morning,” Schwarzenegger wrote. “If you are in an evacuation zone, don’t screw around. Get out. Right now I am grateful for the best firefighters in the world, the true action heroes who charge into the danger to protect their fellow Californians.”
Schwarzenegger’s ex-wife, Maria Shriver, also had to evacuate her home, People reported.
As water-dropping helicopters buzzed above the Getty on Monday, Lisa Lapin, the museum’s vice president of communications, said she was on site with Getty President James Cuno, Chief Operating Officer Steven A. Olsen and security and facilities personnel. They had not been asked to evacuate, Lapin said, and they didn’t expect that to happen.
“The Getty is an incredibly safe place for the art,” she said. “It’s sealed and it’s secure. There are double walls. We’re very confident. The Getty Center is safe right now thanks to a combination of our fire prevention measures and the fire fight from the air. Once the sun came up, it’s been quite aggressive in terms of planes and helicopters.”
The museum’s emergency plans do not call for evacuating art. When the Getty Center opened, the buildings and grounds had been designed as the safest place for the collection in the event of a disaster.
A million-gallon reserve water tank is on site. At about 2 a.m., the museum began using that water to irrigate the property, Lapin said.
Brush is cleared regularly, and plants with the highest water content are planted closest to the building, Lapin said. She also noted the museum’s travertine and metal exterior.
Evacuation centers have been set up at the Westwood Recreation Center at 1350 S. Sepulveda Blvd. and Van Nuys / Sherman Oaks Recreation Center at 14201 Huston St., KNBC reported.
Additional shelters are open at Stoner Recreation Center at 1835 Stoner Ave., Palisades Recreation Center at 851 Alma Real Drive and Cheviot Hills Recreation Center at 2551 Motor Ave., the Los Angeles Times reported. All Santa Monica and Malibu schools are closed, and the University of California, Los Angeles, canceled classes Monday.
“Get out when we say get out,” said Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti at a 5 a.m. press conference, NBC News reported. He said some homes had already been lost.
“If you’re in the mandatory evacuation zone, and you’re still there watching this, you’re an idiot, get the hell out,” L.A. City Councilman Paul Koretz added, KCBS reported.
Interstate 405, one of the nation’s busiest and most traffic-clogged highways, also has been shut down, according to the network.
Students at Mount St. Mary’s University in Brentwood were awakened at 2:30 a.m. and told to evacuate, making their way down a hillside wearing breathing masks against the smoke and ash, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“It’s very surreal,” said evacuee Chad Elbert as he watched the fire’s glow in the predawn hours, according to the publication. “It’s like a scene out of a movie.”
More than 470 Los Angeles firefighters are battling the blaze, NBC News reported.
The $1.3 billion Getty Center opened in 1997, housing the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The museum houses oil billionaire J. Paul Getty’s “collection of European paintings, sculpture, drawings, illuminated manuscripts and decorative arts from the Middle Ages to the 20th century,” according to Brittanica.com.
Several major wildfires are raging across California, forcing hundreds of thousands of people to evacuate.