The 12-building Getty Center complex sits high above the access road, at a safe distance from the Santa Monica Mountains' flammable chaparral. The art galleries are located about 200 meters (655 feet) away from the arrival plaza, with its expansive barrier of travertine marble imported from Italy.

The museum, which describes itself as the “safest places for art during a fire,” is now in a mandatory evacuation zone. Officials said the galleries “are safe and protected.”