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 has caught fire in the wind-driven fire burning out of control in Pacific Palisades, according to Los Angeles Fire Department radio traffic.

Today, a brush fire started in Pacific Palisades fueled by extremely high winds. At the Getty Villa, some trees & vegetation on site have burned, but no structures are on fire, and staff and the collection remain safe. The Villa is closed to non-emergency staff and the public. pic.twitter.com/YN4RkOPRNS

As the fire quickly spreads across the area, multiple people have left their cars and fled on foot. Traffic is gridlocked as people evacuate the neighborhood, and bulldozers have pushed 30 abandoned vehicles to clear a path for fire crews and evacuations on Palisades Drive and Sunset Boulevard .

While it's normally closed to the public on Tuesdays, the Getty Villa extended its closure to next week amid the Palisades Fire.

The Getty Villa museum in Pacific Palisades has a "state-of-the-art" air handling system to seal off its galleries and archives from wildfire smoke.