California Wildfires Not Enough To Kill This Toyota Tacoma [Update]

Wildfires have devastated swaths of Los Angeles County, and while it’s still far too early to know the true toll of these fires, we’re able to see some glimmers of hope and resilience. Maybe that’s too much to put on a now slightly melted Toyota Tacoma, but here we are. Anyway, one thing that showed true resilience in the face of these fires was one man’s 2013 Tacoma.

Updated Monday, January 13, 2025, at 1:15 p.m. EST: Jalopnik spoke with the truck’s owner, Brandon Sanders, about his Tacoma and his situation after the Eaton Fire.

Brandon Sanders posted a handful of photos and a video that shows what’s left of his house and truck that he shares with his wife and their dog, Coco. Unfortunately, their home was reduced to little more than charred rubble, but the truck hung tough. Through a video posted to YouTube, a handful of pictures on Reddit and some photos shared with Jalopnik, we can see that the truck is definitely worse for wear. Pretty much every rubber or plastic part of the truck – from the lights and bumpers to the mirror caps and fenders – was partially or totally melted, and the previously white truck was left covered in ash with a sort of yellowish hue thanks to the Eaton Fire. The windows were also very dirty, but half a bottle of glass cleaner and some paper towels later, they were pretty much as good as new.

Once Sanders got in his truck, it fired right to life as if nothing had happened. Toyotas, man. You can’t kill ’em. He even added that all of the lights still work – even if they’re a bit misshapen now.

“When I first found the truck appeared to be ok I popped the hood to check for mechanical/electrical damage but the radiator, and everything behind it looked to be intact,” Sanders told Jalopnik.

He added, “I was able to get back to the truck and try to start it and it turned over and started just like any other day. I was able to drive it out of the impacted area.”

“Even the Eaton Fire can’t kill a Tacoma. Let’s go places,” he said in his YouTube video while turning on his 79,000-mile truck.

Apparently, the keys were actually lost in the house fire, but Envision Toyota of West Covina was able to make a brand new key for the family at no charge. Sanders says he has owned Tacomas for over 20 years, and he’d always been “happy with their versatility, reliability, and serviceability.” I can imagine this incident only cemented that feeling further. This is his second ‘Taco. He bought this 4x2 Prerunner back in 2019 after taking a 1998 truck over 315,000 miles.

Some folks in the comments section of his Reddit post on r/cars mentioned that he should definitely still check the wiring before driving it around since some componentry may be damaged. he responded by saying that they’re going to have it looked at by a professional and have the tires replaced just in case.

He also said that having the truck fire right up “totally made my day,” which is very understandable considering everything he and his family had just been through. For right now, it seems like he’s going to keep the Tacoma and its “battle hardened look” intact, saying in another comment that “The kids love it! Its the old ladies that are getting scared!” I’m so envious of this dude’s disposition. It’s truly inspirational.

“We are now driving the truck as normal to help us get our lives back together,” Sanders told us.

Sanders also took some time to talk with Jalopnik about what he and the folks in his community need after these devastating fires:

The biggest need overall for ourselves and our neighbors is housing. Long term housing in the area is near impossible to find. There’s no easy solution to that of course. I think the best thing is to make sure that price gouging for rents does not occur due to the sharp increase in demand that just occurred.

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I’m super thankful for the help from volunteers both individuals and groups who want to help. One item to note is that they not get in the way of recovery operations, some of the water distribution points were very close to the impact area in the first couple of days after the fire started resulting in traffic jams for everyone, not only those who needed help but also first responders, including gas, water, electrical crews, from getting to the impact area. I would also say that you don’t have to be physically close to help. There are local companies helping by offering free delivery of goods/supplies to displaced families. I specifically reached out to US based online companies that I order direct from and asked for a discount to re-order clothing lost to the fire and they have been very open to giving me items for free or at their cost. These companies now have me as both a customer and an advocate for life.

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We don’t have a GoFundMe, we are very fortunate to have stable finances and solid employment. We also support the American Red Cross, Los Angeles Regional Food Bank, and the Pasadena Humane Society.