Image via ABC7/YouTube
The destruction from the Pacific Palisades wildfire in Southern California has been devastating, but a story about how a classic Volkswagen Beetle was saved by its owner is inspiring. Human grit and determination, as well as a little expertise, snatched the little German ride from the jaws of certain death by flames.
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As told by ABC7, the owner of the Type 1 lives in Boston but his parents still had the VW at their house. When they called to tell him what was going on, he directed them to park the classic car at the end of the driveway, hoping that would keep it from destruction.
However, the blaze grew and it was apparent the little car wouldn’t make it. In fact, one image of it shows the taillights were melted, the flames got so close. But the owner had flown to Los Angeles to help as his family emptied valuables from their house, which was ultimately destroyed.
But at that point the car keys had been lost in the house, which was engulfed in flames. That’s when the owner called his friend, an automotive engineer, who walked him through breaking into the Volkswagen without damaging anything, then disabling the ignition.
Since the classic Beetle hadn’t been fired up in a long time and not knowing the state of the mechanicals, the owner opted to put it in neutral, take off the brakes, and just coast down the road to an awaiting tow truck.
Many are comparing this story to one covered on The Auto Wire about a classic Volkswagen Microbus which stood out starkly parked in a neighborhood also decimated by the Pacific Palisades fire. We expect more tales of how people were able to rescue beloved cars, and maybe even some about them surviving when everything around them was burned up, will be going around.
For now, we’re marveling at this amazing story of survival as one classic car owner refused to let the fire take his ride.
Image via ABC7/YouTube
