LOS ANGELES, California: The J. Paul Getty Museum's valuable art collection, featuring works by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, and Degas, was once again at risk as the Palisades fire spread.

On Friday night, fire officials ordered evacuations in the Brentwood area, but the museum's collection stayed safe inside the Getty Center. The building is designed to resist fires, with strong travertine stone, fire-protected steel, and reinforced concrete.

"It would be extremely foolish to try and remove artwork," said Katherine E. Fleming, president and chief executive of the J. Paul Getty Trust, noting how quickly fires spread, with little notice.

"It is complicated enough moving really, really valuable artworks around under the best of circumstances. The last thing we would try to do is move them out en masse, on the eve of an event of this sort."

Since starting a week ago, the Palisades fire has burned over 23,000 acres (93 square kilometers) from the coast to the mountains, damaging or destroying around 5,000 buildings. As of the morning of January 14, it was only 17 percent contained and had caused eight confirmed deaths.

The Getty Center, which opened in 1997, was built to withstand wildfires. Its design, materials, and landscaping all prioritize fire safety.

The Getty Center already passed a fire test in October 2019 during the Getty Fire, which burned 745 acres near the museum but caused no damage to the complex. The 12-building center sits high above its access road and is far from the flammable chaparral of the Santa Monica Mountains. Its buildings are surrounded by Italian travertine marble, which is both beautiful and fire-resistant.

When a "red flag" fire warning is issued for low humidity and high winds, the Getty grounds crew waters the soil to create a fire-resistant buffer. The center also has a million-gallon water tank for sprinklers and emergency fire suppression.

The buildings feature reinforced concrete and fire-protected steel walls, fire-resistant stone roofs, and automatic fire doors to prevent flames from spreading. Inside, the air conditioning system keeps smoke and ash out by increasing air pressure and sealing off outside particles.

The Getty's minimalist landscaping has sparse vegetation to reduce fire risks. Fire extinguishers are ready at all entrances, and orange tape seals the doors to block even the tiniest ember.

The museum's collection includes over 400 European paintings from before 1900, with works by Van Gogh, Rembrandt, Monet, and more. It also has an extensive photo collection and expanded holdings of Italian, Dutch, and French art after J. Paul Getty died in 1976.

When the Pacific Palisades fire recently threatened the Getty Villa, a museum on the Malibu coast, staff acted quickly. Within 10 minutes, they adjusted the air system to keep smoke out, and the villa was unharmed.

The Getty Center's thorough fire safety measures ensure the priceless art collection remains protected even during severe wildfires.

"We had shut off the dampers. We started sealing off the galleries over there and very rapidly determined what the core group of staff was that was going to remain on site overnight."