The museum, part of the J. Paul Getty Trust, is home to the organization's collection of Ancient Greek and Roman art. Other cultural centers in the area were also threatened by the fire, which had burned more than 2,900 acres as of Wednesday morning and was moving quickly.

It's cliché by now, but apocalyptic is what it feels like in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. The place is simply unrecognizable. By now hundreds of homes -- including mega-mansions -- have burned. You can see the naked chimneys in the orange haze.