Getty Villa closes Friday as Bryson Fire burns in Malibu hills

The Getty Villa will be closed to the public Friday while a wind-driven brush fire burns in the hills above Malibu, the museum said Thursday night.

“We are closely monitoring the Bryson Fire, and out of an abundance of caution, and to help keep surrounding roads clear for emergency responders, the Getty Villa will be closed to the public on Friday, October 16,” the Getty said in a post on Threads.

The Getty said people holding Villa reservations can visit the Getty Center that day or rebook the Villa for a later date.

The Villa, at 17985 Pacific Coast Highway in Pacific Palisades, normally opens daily from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and closes only on Tuesdays, the Getty’s visitor page shows.

The Bryson Fire started Thursday near Encinal Canyon Road in Malibu, CAL FIRE’s incident page shows. The cause is under investigation.

CAL FIRE’s first update, posted at 5:42 p.m., put the fire at 35 acres with active spotting. By 6:36 p.m., it had reached 102 acres with 0% containment, according to a CAL FIRE status report.

The fire is about 16 miles west of the Villa in a straight line, according to Urgent Matter’s measurement from the coordinates CAL FIRE lists.

The Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department ordered residents of zone KAN-U017 to evacuate immediately and told people in 10 other zones to be ready to leave on short notice.

The department said in a post on X on Thursday night that its helicopter coordinator estimated the fire had the “potential to reach approximately 200 acres within the next hour.”

The National Weather Service’s Los Angeles office issued a red flag warning Wednesday covering most of Los Angeles and Ventura counties from 6 a.m. Thursday until 8 p.m. Saturday.

For the Malibu coast, the warning forecast gusts of 45 to 55 mph, with isolated gusts up to 65 mph, and humidity as low as 8%. It said that if a fire started, “conditions are favorable for extreme fire behavior.”

The weather service said in a post on X that winds were expected to pick up overnight, with gusts of 50 to 60 mph possible.

The Villa last closed for a fire on January 7, 2025, when the Palisades Fire burned trees and vegetation on the grounds but did not damage any structures, the Getty said at the time.

The museum reopened on June 27, 2025, after crews removed more than 1,300 fire-damaged trees and deep-cleaned the site, the Getty’s reopening announcement shows.

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