Category: Wildfires

California Wildfire Claims Vintage Car Collection Including 1-of-1 1948 Norman Timbs Special – Kyle Cheromcha @TheDrive

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The current California wildfires are amongst the worst ever on top of the horrific toll being taken on Human and Wildlife, priceless car collections are also being swallowed up by the unstoppable flames. One of the cars lost was the one of one 1948 Norman Timbs special from the Cerveny collection

You’ve probably never heard of Gary Cerveny, a private collector in Southern California who amassed a fascinating stable over the years. But chances are you’ve heard of his thirty-odd cars, all of which reportedly burned in the Woolsey Fire over the weekend. Read the rest of Kyle’s article here Further coverage on Autoweek here If you’d like to pitch in, the Red Cross has been helping evacuees and is accepting donations. Also the Los Angeles Fire Department Foundation, which helps equip firefighters, could use your support as well.

Members Rally To Evacuate Vintage BMWs From the California Wildfires

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A California wildfire good news story from the BMW Car Club of America

With wildfires looming on the edge of Sonoma, and evacuation in effect, Jim Smith faced a nightmare of logistics: His collection of vintage BMWs, ranging from a 1929 Dixi to a pair of 502 Baroque Angels—not to mention the 315/1 and 328 roadsters, the 327 cabriolets, the lone surviving 327 pillarless coupe, and an Isetta or two—would have to be moved. But only two or three of the cars had even been started in the last few years. With time running short, and skies darkened by smoke and ash, Smith called friends in the BMW CCA—who called other friends, friends with trailers, friends with firm bonds of affection for Smith and his cars, which had often been featured at Monterey.

Read the rest of Nate Risch’s story here

Hagerty Insurance Reacts to the California Wildfires

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Following my recent article on the heartbreaking destruction of car collections by the California wildfires, I thought I’d look into how the Classic Car insurers are reacting.

Hagerty seem to be leading the pack as is often the way it seems?

Jonathan Klinger VP of PR for Hagerty was quoted in The ClassicCars.com Journal in an article by Bob Golfen here

“Obviously, we’ re most concerned about people’s safety and personal well-being, but it sure is a shame when you hear of someone losing a collector car they’re so passionate about,” said Jonathan Klinger, spokesman for Hagerty Classic Car Insurance. “When you start to hear stories of vehicles that have been in the family and passed down through the generations, that’s always tough.”

Most of the collector cars, trucks and motorcycles lost to recent hurricanes and floods in other parts of the country could be salvaged to some extent, Klinger noted, but the vehicles lost to the fires were utterly destroyed with nothing left to soften the blow.

“So that’s the big difference between the hurricanes and the fires,” Klinger said. “Virtually all the cars were salvageable from the hurricanes. Even in the worst-case scenario, there are parts that are salvageable. In the case of these fires, that’s not happening.

“The vehicles that burned up in the fires, we’re not just talking about smoke damage or paint. You’ve seen the pictures, they’re gone, there’s no salvaging them

Also from Hagerty

Wildfires and floods destroy cars, so protecting documents is vital

Benjamin Preston has written an informative article on the Hagerty website regarding claims and the importance of documentation

In California, strong Santa Ana winds are raking wildfire across a desiccated California landscape, destroying countless acres of property and putting lives in danger. In the fire’s wake there are twisted, blackened hulks, which until recently were beloved vintage cars and trucks. Property can be replaced, but when calamity strikes and a classic car enthusiast’s once-gleaming pride and joy is reduced to smoldering wreckage, it’s good to have ownership documentation handy when filing an insurance claim. Without proof of ownership, it can be more difficult to lay hands on much-needed, post-disaster insurance money.

Read the rest of Benjamin’s article here

On a personal note this is particularly upsetting as we’ve holidayed in these areas over the years and seeing the residents and wildlife in distress and beautiful areas destroyed is terrible.

Car Collections Suffer in California Wildfires

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Some heartbreaking stories from car collectors as a result of the recent California wildfires, pales into insignificance against the loss of human and animal life but it’s a sad sight nonetheless.

Example Story

Scott Birdsall and his wife were asleep in their Santa Rosa home when the fire started. They awoke not to the sounds of sirens or banging on their door, but to the wailing of 80-mph winds that rattled the windows and shook the cars parked out front.

The blaze was less than a block from their house when Birdsall and his family fled. When Birdsall returned days later, like so many other Coffey Park residents, he found his home and belongings reduced to ash and rubble.

Among the detritus was his fleet of vintage cars. Birdsall, the owner of hot-rod shop Chuckles Garage, shared photos on his garage’s Instagram page of the cars before the fire, and after. The post-fire images show heaps of crunched steel, stained a fuzzy reddish-brown and melted beyond recognition.

Read the full story here

Residents flee Rincon Valley because of Tubbs Fire with antique vehicles

Here you can see the video

Car collector shows before and after photographs of his destroyed collection following California’s deadliest wildfire in history