Volkswagen debuts restored vintage blue bus that survived a California wildfire and melted hearts

LOS ANGELES (AP) — A vintage blue VW bus that became an unlikely symbol of resilience after it survived a California wildfire made its public debut this week, shiny and like-new after Volkswagen spent months restoring the damaged vehicle.

The bus went viral in January when an Associated Press photographer captured it looking surprisingly unharmed by the deadly Palisades Fire, a spot of blue and white dwarfed by the charred remains of a Malibu neighborhood. Volkswagen reached out to the owner, Megan Weinraub, and discovered that while the bus had survived, it had smoke damage and blistered paint, rust and a window busted by the heat.

In its restoration, the 1977 Type 2 Microbus named Azul — Spanish for the color blue — again brought people together as technicians consulted the broader com