CHILD actor Rory Sykes’ mom has revealed his heartbreaking final moments before flames ripped through his home.
Brit-born Rory, 32, was killed when the LA wildfires reached his cottage on the family’s Malibu estate last Wednesday.
YouTubeRory Sykes pictured on TV as a child[/caption]
X/shelleysykesThe former child actor with mum Shelley[/caption]
His mom, model Shelley Sykes, said she was forced to leave Rory – who was born blind and with cerebral palsy – in the 17-acre property when multiple 911 calls failed.
As the Palisades inferno tore through their neighborhood, phone lines went down and Shelley desperately drove to the closest fire station to raise the alarm.
She said she was unable to evacuate 6ft5 Rory, who had difficulty walking, by herself as she was suffering from a broken arm.
Shelley told 10 News First: “He said ‘Mum, leave me’ and no mum could leave their kid.
“I’ve got a broken arm, I couldn’t lift him, I couldn’t move him.”
But when she got to the station 400m away, she was told there were no water reserves in local fire hydrants.
Panicked Shelley rushed back to her home with firefighters – and tragically found their cottage “burned to the ground”.
She added: “He died with carbon monoxide poisoning, rather than burning.
“I didn’t want any pain for my baby. … It was my baby, and he died needlessly.”
In a heart-wrenching social media post, Shelley hailed Rory – who appeared on 90s TV show Kiddy Kapers as a child – as a “wonderful son” who had “overcome so much”.
Las Virgenes Municipal Water denied Shelley’s claims, however, and said the “water service did remain available and uninterrupted to her property and the entire surrounding community”.
A spokesman added: “Our water system remained operational and we did provide water to the firefighters throughout the emergency and without interruption.”
Firefighters are racing to contain two huge wildfires that continue to burn for a seventh day.
The devastating wildfires have so far claimed 24 lives – and it is feared the death toll could be much higher as firefighters continue to battle towering flames.
Palisades, Eaton and Hurst fires are still raging – and severe winds threaten to fan flames this week.
APA car drives past homes and vehicles destroyed by the Palisades Fire[/caption]
California Governor Gavin Newsom described the fires as what could be the most devastating natural disaster in US history, with thousands of homes destroyed and 100,000 people forced to evacuate.
Flames have reduced whole neighborhoods to smoldering ruins, leveling the homes of the rich and famous and local residents alike, and leaving an apocalyptic landscape.
Officials said at least 12,300 structures have been damaged or destroyed.
Aerial firefighters, some of them scooping water out of the Pacific Ocean, dropped water and retardant.
Land crews with hand tools and hoses held the line of the Palisades Fire as it encroached on the upscale Brentwood section and other populated areas of Los Angeles.
Palisades Fire has consumed some 23,713 acres, while the Eaton Fire in the foothills east of Los Angeles scorched another 14,117 acres.
ReutersFirefighters extinguish a fire as the Palisades Fire burns[/caption]
ReutersA helicopter drops water on the Palisades Fire[/caption] Published: [#item_custom_pubDate]
