Los Angeles is still under seige from flames as our own Coromandel begins to catch alight in the heat. The NZ Police are being kept very busy with investigations; and AI.
Rory Callum Sykes, who appeared on the TV programme Kiddie Kapers in the 1990s, died of carbon monoxide poisoning at his family’s estate in Malibu on Wednesday, his mother said.
Shelley Sykessaid she attempted to save her 32-year-old son, who was born with cerebral palsy, by putting out the flames on his cottage, but found that their water supply wasn’t working.
Rory Callum Sykes, a victim of the Los Angeles wildfires. Photo / Shelley Sykes
She rushed off to get help from the local fire department, but returned to find the cottage had been destroyed.
“He 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,” Sykes told Australia’s 10 News First.
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In a message on social media, she described herself as “totally heartbroken” about the death of her “beautiful son”.
“I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off by Las Virgenes Municipal Water,” she continued.
“Even the 50 brave firefighters had no water all day!”
“He was my baby and he died needlessly,” she added. Sykes is said to be considering taking legal action over her son’s death, although it is unclear whether this is against local authorities or the water company.
The limitations of local water systems complicated firefighting efforts, with the strain pushing the demand to four times the usual capacity for 15 hours, Janisse Quiñones, DWP’s chief executive and chief engineer, told LA Times.
Storage tanks that held water that flows by gravity to communities below ran dry in parts of Los Angeles.
After trying and failing to reach the emergency services on 911, she left her estate and drove some 400m to find help for her son.
When she returned to the property accompanied by firefighters, she found the cottage had been burned to the ground.
One of many houses seen engulfed in flames during the last couple of days, as the Palisades Fire burns along Pacific Coast Highway in Malibu. Photo / AFP
Sykes was later told that her son had died of carbon monoxide poisoning.
“I didn’t want any pain for my baby,” she told 10 News First through tears.
Rory Sykes has reportedly not yet been included in the official death toll from the wildfires, which currently stands at 13.
That number is thought likely to rise once cadaver dogs go through the neighbourhoods which have been devastated by the flames.
A helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire near the Sullivan Canyon area of Los Angeles. Photo / Getty Images
Gavin Newsom, the California Governor, has announced an independent investigation after fire hydrants used to tackle the wildfires ran dry this week.
Water tanks emptied owing to what officials described as “tremendous demand”, while some residents vainly attempted to beat back the flames with water from their swimming pools or garden hoses.
On his website, Rory Sykes described himself as a motivational speaker and consultant for organisations including the Cerebral Palsy Alliance and Tony Robbins Foundation.
With his mother, he founded the Happy Charity to provide “hope, happiness and health to those that are hurting”.
“[He] was born blind with cerebral palsy and had difficulty walking. He overcame so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk,” said Sykes, who previously wrote a book about her son’s recovery. “Despite the pain, he still enthused about travelling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica.”
She continued: “He will be incredibly missed by [his] mama his pet peacocks Edgee and Mickie and all his online fans around the world.”
Rory Sykes was born in Britain but moved to Sydney in Australia before relocating to Malibu.
Appearing with his mother on the Australian TV programme Mornings with Kerri-Anne in 2003, he discussed going on a trip to the US to speak at a motivational conference.
“It doesn’t matter what happens to you in life, it’s what you do about it that counts,” he told viewers.
Las Virgenes Municipal Water has been approached for comment by The Telegraph.
