A surprising photograph of an undamaged Volkswagen van surrounded by destruction from a Los Angeles wildfire has astonished viewers across the world.

The van’s owner was stunned to find that the vehicle survived in a neighborhood that was later destroyed by the Palisades Fire.

When the Palisades fire tore through a Malibu neighborhood, reducing homes and cars to rubble, Preston Martin assumed the retro blue Volkswagen van he once lived in during college was lost. But

Two days before the Palisades fire erupted, Preston Martin parked the Volkswagen van near the Getty Villa.