Photos: How Anti-Fire Construction Saved the Getty Villa in Palisades

• The Getty Villa survived the Pacific Palisades fire due to its anti-fire construction and technology.
• The museum’s staff also spent days protecting the property and its artifacts from flames and smoke.
• Photos from the Getty Villa after the fire show what it takes to keep an at-risk estate safe.

When fire razed the Pacific Palisades in January, the Getty Villa proved itself to be a practically impenetrable anti-fire fortress.

Built like a fortress and outfitted with state-of-the-art firefighting infrastructure, this museum and ancient-Roman-estate replica remained standing as nearby homes burned down.

The facility’s emergency preparedness specialist, Les Borsay, gave Business Insider a tour of the villa just weeks after he and a team of about 17 employees fought the flames encroaching on the property.

“It’s not luck that this place is still here,” he said.

In an era of mega-fires that can threaten urban areas like Los Angeles, the Getty Villa shows what it takes to keep an at-risk estate safe.