An Australian man has died in the Californian wildfires, his “totally heartbroken” mother has confirmed.
British-born Australian citizen Rory Sykes, 32, died after flames engulfed his self-contained cottage on a family property in Mount Malibu, his mother Shelley Sykes said in a post on X.
“@RorySykes had his own cottage on our 17 acre Mount Malibu TV Studio estate, decked out with all the latest apple gadgets, which burnt down yesterday 8 Jan 2024 Malibu Fires,” Ms Sykes said.
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
Ms Sykes said her son was born blind, lived 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,” she said.
“Despite the pain, he still enthused about travelling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica.”
Ms Sykes said she had been unable to put out the cinders on his roof with a hose “because the water was switched off by @LVMWD Las Virgenes Municipal Water”.
She said she drove 400 metres to the nearest fire station to raise the alarm but was told there were no water reserves in local fire hydrants.
“Even the 50 brave firefighters had no water all day,” she said.
Ms Sykes told Ten News her son’s cottage had burnt to the ground by the time she returned with fire officials.
“I’m totally heartbroken,” she said on X.
A Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade spokesperson said the department was providing consular assistance to the family of an Australian who may have been impacted by the Los Angeles wildfires.
“Owing to our privacy obligations we are unable to provide further comment,” the spokesperson said.
“The Consulate-General in Los Angeles is continuing to monitor the wildfires across California, including information on evacuation orders and warnings, as well as evacuation shelters.”