A mother from Australia has described how she tried to save her son, who is blind, from the wildfires in Los Angeles area but was unsuccessful as the water supply ran out.
Shelley Sykes is a TV production entrepreneur who told Australian media about her desperate struggle to save Rory Sykes’s cerebral palsy.
At least 24 people have been killed in Los Angeles by wildfires that were fanned by the wind. The fires destroyed homes and communities.
Sykes stated on social media, that she and son live on a 17 acre estate in Malibu. Malibu is a beachside town in Los Angeles County.
She said that Rory Sykes who appeared on British TV in 1990 in “Kiddy Kapers”, had his own cottage on the property.
Her son was blind, and had trouble walking.
“Rory was unable to walk well because his feet had swollen from the heat. He also had stomach problems. He didn’t like to be too far from the toilet,” Sykes said on Channel Nine in Australia.
“So, he said to his mother, ‘Mum you go, but I’m staying.'”
Sykes stated that she couldn’t leave her son on his own at the estate.
I stayed with my two peacocks and a bathroom in the main house because it was difficult to breathe. Sitting with bottled drinking water on the floor and trying to stay wet.”
Sykes reported that she had seen embers on her son’s roof and tried to put them out with a water hose. “There was no water coming from the hose.”
The woman then drove to her nearest fire station to seek help but was told that they too had no water.
There was nothing there
Residents in Los Angeles were angry when water hydrants ran out during the first attempt to put out the fires.
The cottage was reduced to “just ash” when the fire department returned to Sykes’ property.
She told Channel Nine that there was nothing.
Sykes, who shares her birthday with her son, said that she is overwhelmed by the death of her son.
I am in shock. It is not real. “I cannot breathe.”
Sykes reported that fire authorities had said he died of carbon monoxide intoxication.
The mother was distraught because she said that her son had been in danger and she could not remove him from it.
“I have a broken elbow.” I couldn’t move him. She said, “I couldn’t lift him.” In a separate interview conducted by Australia’s Channel 10,
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade of Australia confirmed that it had been informed of the death of an Australian and was working closely with local authorities.
The department stated that it provided consular assistance to his family but could not comment further due to “privacy commitments.”
According to the Associated Press, 67-year old amputee Anthony Mitchell, and Justin, his cerebral palsy-affected son, died in these fires. The other fire victims included a man found with a garden hose and an 82-year old man who died on his bed.
