Vintage Volkswagen van survives unscathed in US wildfires Becoming Symbol of Hope

According to its heartwarming story, CNN features that a bright blue 1977 Volkswagen van has become a symbol of hope amidst the devastation caused by the recent wildfires in Malibu, US. 

Surf and skateboard designer Megan Krystle Weinraub, the owner of the van, explained that her friends have long called the fortunate vehicle “the magic bus.”

“I just can’t believe that … my bus is the only thing that survived on the street that I walked by with my dog like every single day,” she told CNN’s Erin Burnett. “I’m speechless to see all the houses burnt, and I can’t believe that Azul the bus — that’s what we named it — survived,” she said.

The 1977 van, named after the Spanish word for “blue,” was previously owned by her friend Preston Martin, who lived in it for a year. The two had gone surfing in the van the Sunday before the fires broke out, parking it in the Malibu area, according to The Associated Press.

“It’s so cool that it’s become this, like, beacon of hope,” Martin said. “Everything around it was toasted, just destroyed. And then here’s this bright blue shiny van, sitting right there,” Martin told AP.

By Naila Huseynova