Malibu, California - Former Australian child star Rory Callum Sykes has been identified as one of the victims of the horrific wildfires raging in Los Angeles.

The young actor was known for his role in the British TV show Kiddy Kapers and had faced a number of challenges since his birth, as reported by the New York Post.

His mother, author and presenter Shelley Sykes (62), described the harrowing circumstances under which her son died in a post shared on X.

Born blind and diagnosed with cerebral palsy, Rory overcame enormous hurdles through operations and therapies.

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"Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica," Shelley wrote.

On the evening of January 8, things took a tragic turn when embers from one of the blazes fell onto the roof of the family home in Malibu.

Shelley tried unsuccessfully to extinguish the flames with a water hose.

"I couldn't put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off by Las Virgenes Municipal Water," she explained. "Even the 50 brave fire fighters had no water all day!"

A dramatic battle against the flames began, and Rory was trapped in the house.

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"He said 'Mom leave me,' and no mom can leave their kid," Shelley recalled.

But with a broken arm, Shelley was unable to move her son. The fire department soon arrived, but it was too late.

Rory died of carbon monoxide poisoning, as it was later determined. "I didn't want any pain for my baby," Shelley said.