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Brush fire near Getty Museum 90 percent contained

July 9, 2009 | Steve Julian | KPCC

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A wildfire near the Getty Museum in Southern California is now 90 percent contained. KPCC’s Steve Julian says the blaze broke out early yesterday afternoon and quickly spread through 80 acres.

The land around the Getty is rugged, and covered by thick brush. And, since California is in a drought, that brush is tinder dry. A fire department spokesman says that a crew, clearing some of that brush, accidentally started the fire. It broke out less than a mile from the Getty Museum, but ocean breezes carried it to the east, away from the property.

CA/Local News

Nonetheless, museum officials evacuated about 2,400 people and shut down the ventilation system, so it wouldn’t carry smoke past its art collection. That collection includes illuminated manuscripts, photographs, and works by European painters, including Claude Monet and Vincent Van Gogh.

About a mile to the north, about 300 people attending a conference evacuated Mt. Saint Mary’s College. Fire officials say they should have the fire fully contained today.

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People Investigating Toxic Sites
7 months ago

I haven't heard any mention in the news of the closed Mission Canyon Landfill, which appears to be where the fire ignited. From the 1960s through the 1980s municipal wastes were dumped into eight canyons stretching from south of the Skirball Center to just north of the Getty Museum. It's probable that the fire ignited from highly explosive and highly flammable gases within the landfill. This isn't the first fire at Mission Canyon Landfill and I'm sure it won't be the last. Please contact our organization for more information.

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