The image quickly became a "beacon of hope" for some in the wake of Los Angeles' deadly January 2025 wildfires.

A surprising photograph of an undamaged Volkswagen van surrounded by destruction from a Los Angeles wildfire has astonished viewers across the world.

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When the Palisades fire tore through a Malibu neighborhood, reducing homes and cars to rubble, Preston Martin assumed the retro blue Volkswagen van he once lived in during college was lost. But

Of all the horrors of the LA fires, the loss of life and immense loss of property, happy stories have been few and far between. Scrolling social media coverage from around Los Angeles has been harrowing,

A retro Volkswagen van has inadvertently become a “beacon of hope” for Los Angeles area residents as they start to pick up the pieces.

Two days before the Palisades fire erupted, Preston Martin parked the Volkswagen van near the Getty Villa.