A retro blue VW van miraculously survives deadly Los Angeles fire

ripped through, reducing homes and cars to rubble and charred metal.

of the vibrant bus taken by an Associated Press photographer was circulating widely on television and online, giving viewers a measure of joy.

““There's something supernatural that happened to that van,” Martin, 24, said in a Tuesday interview with AP. “It doesn't make sense how this happened. It should have been destroyed, but look what we're dealing with.”

The neighborhood is currently closed off to the public, and neither Martin nor the individual who purchased the van from him last summer, Megan Krystle Weinraub, have had the opportunity to look at the vehicle. The van appears to have soot on its windows in other available photos, according to Martin.

Martin bought the 1977 Volkswagen Type 2 on a whim during his junior year of studying mechanical engineering at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Martin's mom, Tracey, from Irvine, scolded him for wasting his money, but he explained that by fixing up the bus' interior he could save on rent and live in it during his senior year, which he actually did. She eventually grew fond of the bus and even sewed curtains for its windows.

Last summer he sold the van to Weinraub, a 29-year-old who designs surf and skate boards under the brand Vibrant Boards. However, Martin works on making carbon fiber surfboards under the company Starlite.

On January 5, Martin's friends took their van, which Martin calls Azul - Spanish for "blue" - to go surfing. Afterward, Martin parked it on a flat spot up the hill from her apartment, the Getty Villa, since she's still learning how to drive the manual transmission.

As she took off with Bodi, her dog, and some dog food in her main car, she worried about Azul, but her concern paled in comparison to those who lost their homes or loved ones.

On Thursday, a neighbor sent her a photo showing the bus in the background, still in its original blue and white color, with no signs of damage.

She said she freaked out, shouting for help from the bathroom.

She called Martin, and he freaked out. He called his mom and she was overjoyed. She texted him, "I've never cried over a car before."

They were all the more shocked when the AP image appeared on television and was also shared online.

“Martin said we made the news,” he said in an Instagram post, and the photographer then reached out to him.

Weinraub, whose home was spared, is unsure when she'll be able to return to her apartment in Azul or get back there. The woman and her father are grateful that the van's story has touched so many people.

It's really amazing how it's become a symbol of hope out of all this," Martin said. "Everything around it was completely burnt and destroyed. And then there's this bright blue shiny van, just sitting right there.