Story highlights Wildfires have been burning not far from the famed Getty museum in Los Angeles

The Getty Center was designed with wildfires in mind, official says

(CNN) The J. Paul Getty Center's extensive art collection will stay put even as wildfires blaze not far from the famed Los Angeles museum, according to Ron Hartwig, vice president of communications at the Getty Trust.

Police shut down about 9 miles of I-405 in both directions for much of Wednesday as flames swept down the foothills toward the highway near the Getty Center. The Getty Center and the Getty Villa, which are free to visit, were closed on Wednesday except for essential staff because of the fires and smoke.

Still, Hartwig said the art complex's plan has always been to keep the artwork in place in case of fire. The Getty is on a hilltop and has little accessibility, so it was designed by architect Richard Meier with disaster situations like these wildfires in mind, he said.

"The building was designed to be the best place to keep an art collection," Hartwig said.

The Getty Center lies shrouded in smoke as seen from the Bel-Air district of Los Angeles after the Skirball Fire swept through on Wednesday.

The Getty Center has a sophisticated air filtration system that can reverse directions and push air out, Hartwig said. That system keeps smoke and ash from getting into the galleries and protects the collection.

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