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 saw the accompanying AP story and reached out to the owner, Megan Weinraub. Upon closer inspection, VW technicians 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 community of VW enthusiasts in a shared mission to revive what was a quirky middle-aged vehicle.

“It melted and Volkswagen saved it,” Weinraub said Thursday at the LA Auto Show, standing with the bus's previous owner, Preston Martin. “It was a giant relief because it wasn’t my first priority with everything going on.”

They still can’t believe the bus they wrote off as a goner is now ready to take them on another surfing adventure. The last time they saw a pre-burned Azul was two days before the Palisades Fire broke out, when they parked the bus near Weinraub's apartment after surfing.

Mark J. Terrill, the AP photographer who captured the original image, was on hand when Weinraub and Martin saw the bus for the first time after its restoration in late October.

Volkswagen hauled the microbus to its Oxnard facility west of Los Angeles where it houses historic VW vehicles. Vehicle technicians Farlan Robertson and Gunnar Wynarski sourced hard-to-find parts, got creative and reached out to a lot of people.

“At the bottom of it it was to try to take the vehicle that everyone else saw and do what we could to improve upon it, but not change it," said Robertson, “to actually have it come out and be the revived, resurrected vehicle returned to its former glory.”

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Har reported from San Francisco

Convention-goers look over the restored VW bus, which had survived the Pacific Palisades fire in January, at the AutoMobility LA car show Thursday, Nov. 20, 2025, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

FILE - The Volkswagen bus, named Azul by its owner, sits with some damage in front of burned out homes, Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Megan Krystle Weinraub, left, and Preston Martin, who is the former owner, look over her Volkswagen bus as they see it for the first time Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Malibu, Calif., after it was restored by VW. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

FILE - A VW bus sits among burned out homes, Thursday, Jan. 9, 2025, in Malibu, Calif. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill, File)

Megan Krystle Weinraub, left, and Preston Martin, who is the former owner, pose in front of her Volkswagen bus after seeing it for the first time Monday, Oct. 27, 2025, in Malibu, Calif., after it was restored by VW. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

COVINGTON, Ky. (AP) — The last ghoulish gargoyle has been returned to its perch as part of a two-year restoration of a Kentucky cathedral with a facade modeled after Notre Dame in Paris.

The rehab project at the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption was sorely needed to repair deteriorated stone, metal and glass that adorns the limestone exterior. The project included 32 recreated gargoyles along with repairs of deteriorated finials, arches and balustrades.

The 125-year-old church, in Covington just across the Ohio River from Cincinnati, offers the experience of a European gothic cathedral in the Midwest, said the Very Rev. Ryan Maher, the cathedral’s rector. The cathedral has an “intimate connection to what is really the most popular and most well-known cathedral outside of Rome itself,” he said.

“I think it's very special and very unique,” said Maher, who watched from the sidewalk as the last gargoyle, made of terra cotta, was raised to top of the facade on Monday.

The renovation price tag was nearly $8 million, and most came from donations, Maher said.

Brian Walter, CEO of Trisco Systems, the contractor, said the final gargoyle going in was “a symbol of the accomplishment of all our facade work.”

“That’s a big, monumental occasion for not only people here, but for us. That kind of symbolized the last stone we’re putting in,” Walter said.

Restoration plans grew out of Maher's discovery in 2018 of a large piece of stone that fell from the exterior.

“We realized at that time that we needed to investigate not only the source of that one piece of stone that had fallen, but to take a look at the overall facade of the cathedral,” Maher said.

Workers will continue with smaller tasks around the facade, including the installation of chimeras that sit on the roofline, but the heavy lifting has been completed, Walter said.

“This is kind of a once or twice in a lifetime project,” Walter said.

The story has been updated to correct that the gargoyles are made of terra cotta, not stone.

Workers are seen beyond an orange cherry picker high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," as the final new terra cotta gargoyle is secured with straps to the left, in Covington, Ky., on Tuesday, March 31, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is installed by Cole Burklund, top, and Blake Priest using a cherry picker high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is secured at right after being installed high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is installed by Cole Burklund, in the bright yellow, and Blake Priest using a cherry picker high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)

The final new terra cotta gargoyle is prepared for installation high on the Cathedral Basilica of the Assumption, known as "America's Notre Dame," in Covington, Ky., on Monday, March 30, 2026. (AP Photo/Carolyn Kaster)