Volkswagen to restore "magic bus" that survived Palisades Fire
The long blue bus became a symbol of resilience during the wildfire after a photo of it seemingly unscathed while everything around it burned spread through social media.
Gunnar Wynarski is part of the Volkswagen team restoring the bus after the image caught the attention of the automaker's staff in Oxnard. He said the classic bus was in worse condition than everyone thought when he finally got to see it up close.
"The car looked pretty cool from the driver's side, which was shown in the picture," Wynarski said. "Unfortunately, you couldn't tell the damage, like melted plastic, paint chipping away on the side that was close to the fire. You also have a busted front window, the paint on the roof is really burned off until the bare metal. Inside of the car, you still have all the ashes. It still smells like a fire."
Volkswagen tracked down the owner, Megan Weinraub, and promised they would restore it to its pre-fire condition if they could. While Weinraub calls her 1977 microbus "Azul," it became known as the "Magic bus" on social media.
"I was lucky and grateful to have the opportunity for them to restore it because I wouldn't have been able to restore it myself," she said.
The team plans to take the bus apart, strip it down and put it back together with a fresh coat of paint.
"All the devastation, all the fire, all the damage, so many things got lost, that are gone forever," Wynarski said. "It was really nice to see this car and it felt it gives some kind of hope."
Weinraub said she believes her bus became a symbol of hope during a difficult time and can't wait to get Azul back on the road.
"I'm excited to have it back," she said. "Where I live now, there are so many VW buses. It will be cool to drive it around town."
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