Volkswagen to restore minibus seen in iconic photo of LA wildfires
Volkswagen has stepped in to save and restore a blue and white VW camper minibus that miraculously survived the deadly Palisade fires near Los Angeles in January of this year.
The T2 bus was left intact on a street in Malibu amid homes destroyed by the flames although its paintwork was badly scorched. At least 30 people were killed in the blazes and many made homeless.
The German manufacturer said the van had become a beacon of hope as residents picked up the pieces of their lives as the flames subsided. An AP photo of the lone van in a desolate landscape was circulated widely on TV and social media at the time.
"Like the rest of the world, we couldn't believe our eyes," said Mark Gillies, the company's PR head in the US. "But regardless of how good it looked in photos, we knew it was in dire need of a check-up."
Volkswagen contacted the vehicle's owner, Megan Krystle Weinraub, who refers to her bus as Azul, about assessing the damage and determining whether it was still in road-worthy condition. If not, VW offered to restore Azul to pre-fires form if deemed possible.
"Getting that call was such a relief," Weinraub said. "I knew Azul was becoming a symbol of hope and that people wanted to see more of her, but I had so much to work through at the time that I wasn't sure how to approach it."
Once the area was accessible again, Azul was loaded onto a transport bound for Volkswagen's nearby Oxnard Campus, which houses and maintains VW's US collection of historic vehicles.
Volkswagen team members said that while Azul's "good side" was impressive, the bus would require extensive mechanical fixes and bodywork to be fully operable. Work on the restoration has now begun and is expected to be completed later this year.
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