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Rory Callum Sykes, a former child star from Australia has become the latest casualty of Los Angeles wildfires after the blaze ripped through his family's Malibu property, according to a social media post by his mother, Shelly Sykes. The 32-year-old who rose to fame when he appeared on the 1998 British TV series Kiddy Kapers and later became a motivational speaker on living with disabilities, reportedly died of carbon monoxide despite Ms Sykes' best attempts to save her son.
“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I'm totally heartbroken,” Ms Sykes, wrote on X (formerly Twitter).
“He was a British-born Australian living in America, a wonderful son, a gift born on mine and his grandma's birthday 29 July 92.”
According to Ms Skyes, her son, who was born with cerebral palsy, was staying in a cottage on the family's 17-acre Mount Malibu TV Studio estate. As Ms Skyes tried to use water to douse the fire, she discovered it had been turned off.
“I couldn't put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off. Even the 50 brave firefighters had no water all day,” wrote Ms Sykes.
It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday. I'm totally heart broken. British born Australian living in America, a wonderful son, a gift born on mine & his grandmas birthday 29 July 92, Rory Callum… pic.twitter.com/X77xyk83gx
— Shelley Sykes (@shelleysykes) January 9, 2025
She rushed off to get help from the local fire department but returned to find the cottage had been destroyed. “He [Rory] said, ‘mom leave me' and no mom can leave their kid. And I've got a broken arm, I couldn't lift him, I couldn't move him,” Ms Sykes told Australia's 10 News First.
Australia's foreign minister, Penny Wong, said the government's “thoughts are with the family of Rory Sykes at this tragic time”. “We continue to engage with Los Angeles authorities, who are working to confirm his death. Dfat is in close contact with his family and is providing consular assistance to them.”
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Los Angeles wildfires
Since the wildfires started, they have ripped through over 30,000 acres of Los Angeles County in just a few days, killing 10 people in the process. The LA wildfires are poised to become one of the costliest natural disasters in US history, with estimated losses already surpassing $135 billion.
The total losses could reach as high as $150 billion, making it one of the most expensive wildfires the country has ever seen, BBC has reported.
Though wildfires occur naturally, scientists claim that human-caused climate change is altering weather and changing the dynamics of the blazes. Two wet years in Southern California have given way to a very dry one, leaving ample fuel dry and primed to burn.