The Story of Azul Part 1: Fire
The 2025 LA fires tremendous devastation. Like a bomb hit. The one thing that survives is this Volkswagen bus. This bright blue VW bus emerged out of the ashes. The van’s alive. The van’s okay. I can’t believe that this is real still. I was looking up old school vintage Volkswagen buses like for art, for carrying boards. I’m like, if anyone knew anything about Volkswagen buses, it would be my friend Preston. This is the first day I ever drove this thing. One day out of nowhere, she texted me. She’s like, “Do you know anyone that’s selling a Volkswagen Buzz?” I’m like, “Yeah, you want to buy my van?” I’m like, “Dude, this is mine.” The Sunday before the fires hit, Megan and I went surfing and we parked the van on that top hill where it sat. We’re watching the fire line pass where this bus was parked. And I was like, “Okay, the van’s done. Like, it’s a goner.” 2 days later, the Associated Press pos this photo. It went viral. Definitely sadness comes up. This is the neighborhood that I lived. When I first saw the car after the fires definitely did get damaged, smoke in it, glass everywhere. Volkswagen just reached out. They were like, “We would love to restore the bus for you.” I felt relieved. I was like, “Oh, thank you. Someone’s helping.” Out of all the chaos and devastation, there’s this bright light. It survived the hard part and now it’s ready to get saved.
When wildfires ravaged Southern California in January 2025, the world was shocked to discover an unlikely survivor: a 1977 VW Bus.
From a viral photograph to a journey to restore hope, this is the story of Azul.
