Megan Weinraub evacuated on the morning of Jan. 7 and had to leave her beloved, teal blue, 1977 Volkswagen Bus behind in Pacific Palisades.
A couple days later, a photographer with the Associated Press snapped a photo of the brightly colored, classic Volkswagen Transporter -nicknamed "Azul" - left mostly unscathed amid the gray and black rubble in the southern portion of Malibu.
The photo was seen by millions around the world -- including the people at Volkswagen - and became a symbol of resilience for the community.
With Weinraub's blessing, the company offered to put what they call "The Magic Bus" back into like-new condition at their engineering center in nearby Oxnard.
RELATED: LA Auto Show showcases newest vehicles for 2026 and beyond
Azul may have survived the fire, but it was surrounded by homes going up in flames, which put out some intense heat. So, the side of the bus not shown in the viral picture did suffer some damage.
"We found the car with busted rear windows, we had ashes inside, we had embers inside and nothing combusted and we drained 11 gallons of fuel of the car. Why didn't it burn? I don't know," said Gunnar Wynarski, Volkswagen technician.
They restored the bus for free, with technicians spending more than 2,000 hours on the job.
Weinraub recalled what the scene looked like after the flames of the Palisades Fire roared through her neighborhood.
"The whole area was dark and gloomy, like it was raining and it was a heavy scene but to see the shininess of that one side that made it through was, I don't know, it's miraculous and then seeing it get towed away ...what a relief." said Weinraub.
Azul will be on display through Nov. 30 at the L.A. Auto Show and then at the Petersen Automotive Museum from December to January.