Wildfires burn on a hillside near the Getty Center. Gene Blevins/Reuters

Visitors come to the Getty Center in Los Angeles to see Vincent van Gogh’s irises and other great works. What they don’t see is the reason that these masterpieces could stay put while thousands in Southern California had to evacuate as multiple fires raged in recent days, one of which came within thousands of feet of the museum.

Skirball Fire BEL-AIR The Getty LOS ANGELES SANTA MONICA PACIFIC OCEAN Skirball Fire BEL-AIR The Getty LOS ANGELES SANTA MONICA PACIFIC OCEAN The New York Times | Source: Cal Fire

The Getty’s architect, Richard Meier, built fire resistance into the billion-dollar complex, said Ron Hartwig, vice president of communications for the J. Paul Getty Trust. These hills are fire prone, but because of features like the 1.2 million square feet of thick travertine stone covering the outside walls, the crushed rock on the roofs and even the plants chosen for the brush-cleared grounds, “The safest place for the artwork to be is right here in the Getty Center,” he said.

B E D A C Ember from the Skirball fire fell approximately in this area F B E D A C Ember from the Skirball fire fell approximately in this area F B E D A C Ember from the Skirball fire fell approximately in this area F B E D A C Ember from the Skirball fire fell approximately in this area F B E D A C Ember from the Skirball fire fell approximately in this area F The New York Times | Source: Google Earth

A TRAVERTINE STONE was chosen to face all major walls, specifically because of its fire-resistant qualities. B CRUSHED STONE, a fire-resistant material, covers each flat roof. C OAK TREES that cover much of the grounds are regularly pruned, so that their canopies stay high off the ground. D ACACIA SHRUBS were chosen for plantings closest to the building and on slopes, because they are fire-resistant and can hold plenty of water. E A one-million gallon WATER TANK sits beneath the Getty’s underground parking structure, to supply water for the irrigation system F A network of IRRIGATION PIPES runs throughout the grounds. In case of fire, sprinklers can be used to soak the earth.

Within that lovely milky travertine skin, the buildings have reinforced concrete walls and automatic fire doors that can trap fires in sealed-off areas. A carbon-filtered air conditioning system pushes smoke out instead of letting it in, and the internal sprinklers — whose pipes remain dry until needed, to avoid damaging accidents – stand ready to douse flames.

“Should any fire move within one of those compartmentalized areas, it can’t get anywhere,” said Michael G. Rogers, director of facilities at the Getty. Since water supplies can be cut off in a disaster, The Getty has its own million-gallon water tank buried under the parking garage. The result is a complex that is rated Type 1, the highest level of fire resistance.

J H I G J H I G J H I G The New York Times | Source: Getty Center

G WALLS are made of reinforced concrete, and have an outward facade of highly fire-resistant travertine stone. H AIR SYSTEM maintains a pressure flow to keep smoke from entering the building from outside. This air pressure can be increased if needed. I Fire resistant FOLDING DIVIDER WALLS located between sections of the museum can be closed to seal off various areas in case of fire. J WATER SPRINKLERS would only be used as a last resort. The pipes remain completely dry unless a fire is detected, so that they cannot accidentally drip water.

The Skirball fires, which afflicted the neighborhood of Los Angeles where the Getty is located, drew as near as the San Diego Freeway it overlooks. But the system worked.

On the morning of December 6, an ember drifted over to the Getty hill. It landed and started a small fire. But the damp earth had been thoroughly soaked with 1.2 million gallons of water from the sprinkler system, giving the fire little to work with. “It ignited, it moved very slowly,” Mr. Hartwig said. The fire department put it out before flames could climb the hill.