An Australian man has been confirmed among the 11 fatalities in the wildfires ravaging Southern California, authorities said.
Rory Callum Sykes, 32, a British-born motivational speaker and author who went to school in Sydney, died on his family’s Malibu estate. His mother, Shelley Sykes, announced the news on X (formerly Twitter).
“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,” she wrote.
Born blind and with cerebral palsy, Sykes overcame significant challenges, his mother said. “He overcame so much with surgeries and therapies to regain his sight and to be able to learn to walk. Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me,” she wrote.
The fire destroyed his cottage on the family’s 17-acre Mount Malibu TV Studio estate. “I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off,” Shelley added.
The Palisades Fire and Eaton Fire have scorched over 13,750 hectares, making them the most destructive in Los Angeles history. Officials are investigating arson as a possible cause for one blaze.
Celebrities, including Anthony Hopkins and Paris Hilton, are among those affected as fires decimate neighborhoods.