California Firefighters Rescue Vintage Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 From Raging Wildfire
Crews battling flames pushed the six-figure car to safety while a wildfire consumed the house around them.
Firefighters in southern California are risking life and limb to combat the wildfires that are sweeping through the state. Though the matters at hand are grim, one fascinating image was posted by a local news station ABC7 of a crew who encountered a rare 1966 Ford Mustang Shelby GT350 in Malibu, removing it from the burning home.
The firefighters pulled the vintage Mustang from the garage and pushed it near the side of a cliff, far enough from the brush and burning home to keep the car safe. Another photo shows the car nested safely away from the flames as they spread rapidly towards the garage.
Just under 1,400 Shelby GT350 Fastbacks were produced in 1966, making the car as rare as it is valuable. Similar examples are fetching well into the six figures; one for sale in Northern California has a hefty asking price of $265,000.
There still appears to be some foliage nearby the car's resting place; hopefully, the fire stays far enough away to keep the vehicle safe, though the car's general condition likely isn't the top priority of the firefighters. It's important to note that the crew likely removed the Mustang from the home not solely to save it, but to prevent the to fuel in the car's gas tank from combusting. Even so, we commend them for risking their lives to battle the blaze and helping to preserve a piece of American history in the process.
Currently, tens of thousands of homes are under order of mandatory evacuation as two separate wildfires rip through the Golden State. The Woolsey Fire is burning uncontained in both Los Angeles and Ventura counties while the Hill Fire also burns in Ventura County, consuming over 4,500 acres thus far. Nine fatalities have been confirmed due to the fires at the time of writing.
The heartbreaking scenes across the state show just how quickly and violently wildfires can spread, especially with Los Angeles experiencing a severe drought. A small act like saving the Shelby shows a bit of humanity in the chaos.
