More than 12,000 buildings were damaged by the devastating fires in California. 29-year-old Megan Krystle Weinraub thought she had lost not only her apartment in the flames, but also her beloved 1977 VW Bulli. But a photo taken by a reporter showed a small miracle: the blue and white bus was apparently intact .
“There is magic in this van,” Preston Martin, 25, Weinraub’s previous owner and business partner, told the AP. “It doesn’t make sense why this happened. He should have been roasted, but that’s the way it is.” Amid the burned-out villas, the car is apparently the only one that has been spared by the flames for miles around. On the one hand, it looks like the windows are covered in soot, says Martin.
The young man had bought and renovated the vehicle during his studies and even lived in it for a while. Last summer, he finally sold the car, affectionately called “Azul,” to his 29-year-old business partner, who makes surfboards and skateboards. On January 5, they parked the van near the Getty Villa – since Weinraub is still learning to drive with a manual transmission, they chose this spot because it is very flat. A happy coincidence, we discovered a few days later.
‘I’ve never cried over a car’
When the fire broke out, the two had to abandon the car and fled with their dog Bodi in another vehicle. Last Thursday, a neighbor finally showed Weintraub a photo from the agency showing the van — bright blue and white, it stands out among the burned debris. “I panicked,” she said. “I was in the bathroom and screaming.” Even the previous owner, Martin, couldn’t believe it and told his mother, who also loved the car: “I have never cried because of a car,” she wrote to her son. .
“It’s so cool that it has become such a beacon of hope,” Martin told a reporter. “Everything around was destroyed. And then there’s this bright blue van.’ Weinraub has not yet been able to inspect her car in person. The area is still cordoned off. However, the 29-year-old has already received more good news: her apartment is also said to have survived the flames.
Weather Authority: “Not completely out of the woods yet”
Meanwhile, the Red Flag Warning for the Southern California area remains in effect. “Not quite out of the woods yet,” the Los Angeles Weather Authority said on the platform. The “Palisades Fire” on the western edge of Los Angeles is now 18 percent contained. The ‘Eaton Fire’ near Pasadena and Altadena northeast of Los Angeles is 35 percent contained. At least 25 deaths have been confirmed so far, and others are still missing.
Source: Krone
I am Wallace Jones, an experienced journalist. I specialize in writing for the world section of Today Times Live. With over a decade of experience, I have developed an eye for detail when it comes to reporting on local and global stories. My passion lies in uncovering the truth through my investigative skills and creating thought-provoking content that resonates with readers worldwide.
