Los Angeles: Blue VW Bulli survives the inferno

Ash, rubble, still flames. The Los Angeles Inferno is the largest fire disaster in California history. Thousands of houses destroyed – but in the middle of it all, a little happiness shines. One Bulli survived.

The Blue Wonder of Malibu! The VW bus from 1977 stands in the middle of gray-brown rubble. All the houses in the street have burned down, and only the brick chimneys and chimneys rise from the ruins.

The van belongs to Megan Krystle Weinraub (29). She is a surfboard designer and her friend Preston Martin (24) builds the boards. On January 5th they went surfing, after which Preston parked the vintage car in Malibu above the Getty Villa. He chose a flat spot in the residential area because Megan is still learning to drive a manual car. She only took over the van last summer.

Two days after the surfing trip, all hell breaks loose. A firestorm destroys the Pacific Palisades district and spreads to neighboring Malibu. Megan has to flee her apartment with her dog Bodi and has not been allowed to return until today. The evacuation area is closed.

While she was still mourning her van, an acquaintance sent her a photo that Mark J. Terrill took for the AP news agency.

The photo of hope. The van shines in blue and white, even the tires still seem intact. Megan to AP: “I was in the bathroom. I screamed with happiness.” Preston showed her messages, the photo had made it onto TV and social media.

A little bit of hope in the inferno

Megan was not yet allowed to return to her van, which they both call “Azul” (Spanish for blue). Not even in her apartment, which at least didn’t burn down. But they are happy about this spark of hope in the disaster: “Everything is burned, simply destroyed. And then there’s this bright blue van standing right in the middle of it all.”

The “Palisades Fire” burned 95 square kilometers. It is still not clear how many houses have been lost. Since the outbreak of the fire On January 7th, only rescue workers and security personnel are allowed into the closed streets. But this much is certain: the firestorm has entire blocks destroyeddevastated the district. Pacific Palisades was one of the richest areas of the city, and the villas along the Pacific Coast Highway along the coast were among the most sought-after locations in California.

Preston Martin says quite aptly about the blue wonder amidst the ash and rubble: “There is something magical about this van.”