Former child actor Rory Callum Sykes died on Wednesday, Jan. 8, a victim of the Palisades Fire, according to his mother, Shelley Sykes. He was 32 years old.
Rory, an Australian actor born blind and with cerebral palsy, appeared on a British television show. “Kiddy Capers.” In addition to her work in front of the camera, Rory also worked as a motivational speaker and helped set up the Happy Charity with her mother.
Sykes tried to leave their Malibu home when they did not Palisades Fire lit, only to have difficulty accessing emergency services due to limited resources, including power.
Former child star Rory Callum Sykes has died aged 32. (X/Shelley Sykes)
“He was my child, and he died needlessly,” Sykes said 10 Australia First News.
Sykes said his son was living in a guest house on the family's 17-acre Malibu canyon property. When the Palisades Fire entered the community, he had no way to communicate with outsiders.
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“Guess what didn't work? 911 – all the phone lines were down,” he said. “He said, 'Mom, leave me,' and no mother can leave their child. I broke my arm; I couldn't lift him. I couldn't move him.”
In an attempt to escape, he drove to his fire station to call for help, only to be told “they have no water.”
“I said, 'Oh my God, my son is locked in his room,'” Sykes recalled. “When the fire department brought me back, his house had burned to the ground.”
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Born in Britain, Sykes moved to Australia as a child. He wrote a book, “Callum's Cure,” which explained his determination not only to leave for one day, but also for them.
Firefighters watch as water comes down from the Palisades Fire in Mandeville Canyon Saturday, Jan. 11, 2025, in Los Angeles. (Jae C. Hong/AP Photo)
“He died of carbon monoxide poisoning rather than burns,” Sykes said he was told by firefighters. “I didn't want any pain for my child.”
Sykes is considering a class action suit, and he's at it for now.
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“I'm not going to budge,” Sykes said. “That's going to be a place, a special place for me and Rory, and we're going to make it even better than it was.”
The plane crashed into the Palisades Fire. (Brian van der Brug/Getty Images)
A home is engulfed in flames during the Eaton Fire in Altadena on January 8, 2025. (Josh Edelson/Getty Images)
The Department of Forestry and Fire Protection reported Sunday that they Palisades Fire it has burned 23,713 hectares and is now 11%. Five casualties have been reported since the fire broke out on Tuesday, January 7.
Less than 30 miles away, the Eaton Fire, which reignited Jan. 7 in Altadena, has burned 14,117 acres and is now 27 percent contained. Eleven injuries have been confirmed.
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