The Getty Museum, Los Angeles' most famous art museum and a popular tourist attraction, has so far managed to escape the flames. But the fire is creeping closer to the museum, which houses works by, among others, Rembrandt, Van Gogh, and Monet.
Other galleries and cultural meeting places have not been as lucky and have been swept up in the inferno around Los Angeles.
Large collections
Art expert Claes Moser, known from SVT's "Antiques Round", says that there are large art collections in these areas. Moreover, there are many private individuals, including some celebrities, who own valuable collections. Many wealthy Americans invest in art objects.
There is a concentration of wealthy individuals in these parts of the USA, so it is naturally an enormous risk that fantastic art collections have been lost, he says, and adds:
We do not yet know how much has been destroyed and if anything has been saved. But if 10,000 houses have burned down, they have probably contained significantly more than the average American's art possessions, he says.
Loss in the billions
It could, for example, be about works by famous European artists such as Renoir, Degas, Monet, Manet, and Van Gogh, where certain paintings can be worth up to a billion kronor.
American collectors have a fondness for French Impressionists. France was a great model for American indigenous art, says Claes Moser.
The extent of the devastation cannot be overviewed at present, he believes. But that it is at least a loss in the billions, he is fairly convinced of.
I dare say it's a matter of several billions.
It is not only a national catastrophe but also an international one, believes Moser.
It is a catastrophe that we have never seen the likes of. This is an entire cultural heritage, and the USA has been relatively spared from this type of event.
