It's taken me over 2 years to bring myself to report the tragic loss of my '50 Sedan Delivery. It happened in Nov. 2009 in one of California's largest wildfires - The Woolsey Fire that swept through 94,000 acres of the beautiful Santa Monica Mountains near Malibu and west of L.A. We were fortunate that our primary residence survived while 1964 structures did not. 35 homes are gone within a one mile radius of us. One of those was my beloved 1500 s.f. garage/barn that housed the Delivery. The vehicle was literally weeks away from paint and assembly after a protracted 45 year love affair that started with the find on Salt Spring Island, B.C., a roundabout road trip home to Toronto through Cali.(putting parts on along the way)- a extended pit stop in Oklahoma City where the engine gave out (longer story), and anyway many more adventures later (even longer story!)

Had the car shipped to Cali. several years after moving there in 2009 which was a nightmare when customs seized all the parts inside (including the engine) after the shipper declared as 'parts'. The intense heat of fire caused the metal girder above the Ponco to guillotine it to death. The only salvageable part was the rear cargo door which I hope to find a good home for since they are 'rare as hen's teeth'. Just goes to show you- shoulda left her back in her motherland!!

So long Indian- thanks for the memories!

Photos forthcoming of the funeral!

2018?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Woolsey_Fire

So sorry to hear of the loss.  Having a 45 year history with the car would not make things any easier.  I cannot imagine the horror of knowing the fire is advancing towards you and the worry about what might happen, then seeing the devastation happen around you, and finally realizing that your garage and cars are gone.  Nobody should have to go through that kind of stress.

I can understand why it took 2 years to be able to post about it.

Sorry to hear about that irreplaceable loss. I can't imagine.

Whenever I see images of what is leftover from a wildfire through a California community, there always seems to be quite a few barely recognizable hulks amoungst the debris. But as car guys, we have trained eyes, and they often seem to be classics.

You see miles of grey dust and destruction, and then you imagine what the owners must be going through.

Yes, sad. Wildfires and bushfires are becoming more and more prevalent in this world.

timbuk wrote:

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very sad to hear murray glad you are ok i was wondering why we hadnt heard from ya condolences to your 50 TIMBUK

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 x2 very sad after all those years of caring for her. Also wondered where you had gotten to....  Me.. if I couldn't find a buyer that really needed a rear cargo door  to finish his/her project(sell). Until then maybe just hang it on the wall like a headstone.  After all those years....it was part of you and you were part of it. Have had my 57 chev since I was 17. Any thing happened to it..as long as I had 1 part to keep. Cars are like pets. We nurture them, will spend what ever it takes to keep them healthy(new plugs/ oil) and happy (take them for a drive).....but at the same time it keeps us healthy and happy. Sorry for the loss

I can also see why it took you so long to talk about this. Just trying to figure out how any of what happened makes any sense is enough to blow your mind.

Also trying to also see why something that lasted so long, went through so much and with all that effort could be just gone is enough to make you question a lot about life in a larger sense.

I'm sure you 've heard all the platitudes so I won't mention any more of those.  

Maybe this song would help put it in perspective though.

Well that sucks Murray. I'm sorry to hear about your loss.

Thanks guys for all the condolences! Yes- my bad, the fire was Nov.2019. We evacuated 2 hrs (7:30 am) before the 14 mile long wall of fire came through. I had been up since 3 AM preparing- taking pictures of everything and clearing things flammable away from the house, etc.(Wife was already freaked out and took the 2 cats and her Boxster to the beach 7 miles away.)We have a 2016 25' ft Airstream which I had hooked up locked and loaded and that was our home foe 2 weeks 25 miles up the coast while we waited to get back in. It ended up being a full 7 weeks before we could move back to the house even though I was allowed in to put some erosion control measures in place to prevent the rains & debris flow from destroying what was left! It literally looked like a moonscape with no vegetation and burned rocks everywhere!

Also consumed were 3 vintage Airstream trailers- a 1957, 1972 and a 1963 . The first 2 were extremely popular Airbnb's we had on our property for 5 years with guests visiting from all over the world. The '63 unfortunately was only here for some body repairs I was doing for the owner- and none were insured!

Here's a few pictures:

Gut wrenching.

How is it that the house survived?

The house only survived due to 3 important factors:

!/ Tons of PRAYER support

2/ Fire 'resistant' construction (stucco & stone veneer, dual glazing (biggy), spanish tile roof & minimal wood exposure.40% of homes burn after the fire due to embers.

3/ Brush clearance- law here requires 200 ft.(100' bare earth + 100' "lolly-popped"). The chaparral around us was 15-20' high and unburned for over 20 years. The fuel load created heat enough to melt aluminum alloy wheels into puddles and destroy the metal shop girders. Most people didn't have adequate clearance and if they lived on a ridge it was game over!

You're probably asking 'Why would he want to gamble w/those odds?'

Answer: 300 days of sunshine/ yr., a new 'Show & Shine' to go to weekly, no salt on the roads, surfing 6 miles away!

             Today it's 24 Celsius! I'm in a sweatshirt and not shoveling anything but horse manure! :)

Here's the 'Before' picture of the shop.

Has it began to come back to life a little? The ground cover, small plants and the like?

Those pictures tell a brutal story!

cdnpont wrote:

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Has it began to come back to life a little? The ground cover, small plants and the like?

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 We just got the 2nd rainstorm of the winter and the hills are beginning to green up. The native vegetation is coming back - some is about 4 ft high now and the low sage and other species are also on strong. Main problem is the invasives- wild mustard takes over and is beautiful in (yellow) flower (like rapeseed on the prairies) but it grows up to 2 meters high and is inpenetratable, choking out the natives. When the rainy season stops in April it dries out and becomes another fire hazard. They say it will be 10 years before it fully recovers- that is unless it burns again, which is happening more frequently with global warming.

https://vancouver.craigslist.org/rds/cto/d/langley-township-southwest-1952-pontiac/7270260782.html

Will you be getting a replacement for it Murray? Was it insured against what happened to it?