NEW YORK: Southern California’s Getty Center, one of the world’s wealthiest art institutions, said it had survived a wildfire tearing through Los Angeles thanks to a disaster plan that has it ready for earthquakes as well. Fires that have chased almost 200,000 Californians from their homes covered the Getty’s hillside location in smoke this week. Perched above the busy 405 freeway, an artery of California’s traffic system, the Getty is among the most visited US museums and reopened on Friday after two days closed. The Getty’s design, and a plan developed with insurers eager to keep the valuable collection safe, helped shield from damage art including Edouard Manet’s “Spring,” for which it paid more than $65 million in 2014. The museum has its own water tanks and has landscaped the complex in order to keep flames at bay. — Reuters
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