A disabled father and son have been found dead in their California home amid the ongoing wildfires in Los Angeles.
Eight fires were confirmed to have been blazing in the LA region, with three having confirmed to have been contained by firefighters.
At least 11 people have died, LA County Medical Examiners have confirmed, while more than 10,000 homes and other structures have been destroyed, with two of the biggest fires being Palisade and Eaton, which, according to The Independent, have covered more than 30,000 acres of land.
The Eaton fire struck Altadena, where 67-year-old Anthony Mitchell and his son Justin lived, according to Mitchell’s family.
Anthony Mitchell died alongside his son Justin (Family Handout)
Anthony was an amputee and used a wheelchair, while Justin, who was in his early 20s, had cerebral palsy and was bed bound.
Another of Anthony’s sons, Jordan, also lived with the pair, however, he was in hospital with an ear infection, the BBC reports.
Hajime White, Anthony’s daughter, told The Washington Post that they ‘didn’t make it out’.
She also recalled her dad ringing her on Wednesday (January 8) morning concerned about the oncoming danger.
“He said, ‘Baby, I’m just letting you know the fire’s broken out, and we’re going to have to evacuate’,” she said. “Then he said, ‘I’ve gotta go—the fire’s in the yard’.”
White said that Anthony and Justin were waiting for an ambulance to pick them up as there were no caregivers on hand, and she also revealed that her dad was found deceased next to Justin’s bed, AP reports.
“It’s like a ton of bricks just fell on me,” she said, adding that Anthony had four children, 11 grandchildren and 10 great-grandchildren.
“He had nicknames for everybody: Strawberry Shortcake, Marshmallow, Bug. He just went on and on.” she said.
The LA wildfires continues to devastate the US (Tayfun Coskun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Palisades Fire has been regarded by officials as one of the most destructive fires, with Los Angeles Fire Chief Kristin Crowley issuing an update to press on Thursday (January 9).
“It is safe to say that the Palisades Fire is one of the most destructive natural disasters in the history of Los Angeles,” he said.
“I want to be very clear here. … We are still under red-flag warning with extreme fire-behavior possibilities.”
Meanwhile, police suspect that the Kenneth fire was started deliberately, with a man later being arrested on suspicion of arson in regards to the fire by the LA police.
You can support those affected by the fires by donating to the Red Cross online, by calling (800) 733-2767 or texting REDCROSS to 90999.
Former child actor Rory Callum Sykes has died aged 32 amid the ongoing Los Angeles wildfires, his mother has announced.
The Brit, who was blind and lived with cerebral palsy, starred in the British RTV show Kiddy Kapers back in 1998 and become a much-loved star.
He defied the odds amid the ongoing health battles, and even went on to learn to walk, run and see.
Shelley Sykes, Rory’s mother, took to Twitter on Thursday (January 9) to confirm her son had died after a blaze in his home.
Shelley with her son (Twitter/@shelleysykes)
“It is with great sadness that I have to announce the death of my beautiful son @Rorysykes to the Malibu fires yesterday,” she wrote on social media.
“I’m totally heart broken. British born Australian living in America, a wonderful son, a gift born on mine & his grandmas birthday 29 July 92, Rory Callum Sykes. @rorysykes was the founder with me of @happycharity a true humanitarian. He saw him self as the number one fan of @Apple & @tim_cook & most importantly an avid @RuneScape gamer!”
The mother added: “@rorysykes was born blind with cerebral palsy & had difficulty walking. He overcame so much with surgeries & therapies to regain his sight & to be able to learn to walk. Despite the pain, he still enthused about traveling the world with me from Africa to Antarctica.”
Shelley went on to explain how Rory had his own cottage in Malibu, which ‘burnt down’ on Wednesday (January 8).
She continued: “I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off by @LVMWD Las Virgenes Municipal Water. Even the 50 brave fire fighters had no water all day! He will be incredibly missed by @shelleysykes, mama his pet peacocks Edgee & Mickie & all his online fans around the world!”
The former child actor has died (YouTube/10 News First)
Reports suggest Shelly drove a quarter of a mile to try and save her son after she was unable to get in touch with emergency services on the phone.
Speaking further to 10 News about her son’s passing, she said: “I couldn’t put out the cinders on his roof with a hose because the water was switched off. When the fire department brought me back, his cottage was burnt to the ground. He will be incredibly missed.”
Many have flocked to the comments section of Shelley’s social media post to pay their respects.
“I’m so sorry to read this news. What a traumatic experience for both of you. Sending my condolences,” one person wrote.
While a second added: “So heartbreaking I’m terribly sorry for your loss.”
A daughter has spoken out about her 82-year-old father’s decision not to evacuate amid the Los Angeles fires.
Five fires are blazing through California, with Los Angeles engulfed by flames. At the time of writing, nearly 30,000 acres of land has been ravaged, over 9,000 structures have been damaged or destroyed and the fires have claimed the lives of at least 10 people, the number expected to continue to rise.
Rodney Nickerson, 82, is one of the victims of the Eaton Fire, his daughter Kimiko having since opened up about her dad’s decision not to leave his home in Altadena.
She continued: “This is the house that I came home to as a child and I’ve been here my whole life, I don’t know anywhere else other than here.
“Myself and my brother and my son, Chase and his other grandchildren, this is where we’ve been our whole life.”
The daughter noted she and the rest of the family and neighbors tried their best to get Rodney to evacuate but he refused.
Kimiko Nickerson’s father Rodney Nickerson passed away in the Eaton Fire (KCAL News)
Despite his grandson packing up the car and encouraging him to leave, Kimiko says Rodney told him he ‘didn’t need to go right now’.
Kimiko said: “He said he’ll be fine. ‘I’ll be here when you guys come back’. And he said his house will be here.”
The ‘last thing he verbally said’ to Kimiko was: “I’ll be here tomorrow.”
The daughter reflected: “His house was here and he was here too, he was in his bed when I found him. We found his bones, his whole body was there intact.”
She added to Sky News: “Like all of us on this block, in four blocks, he didn’t think it was going to be this devastating.
“It jumped whole streets, and it hit this community, but it didn’t touch the mountainside at all.”
Kimiko has opened up about her father’s decision to stay (KCAL News)
Kimiko said she has ‘no words to explain [her] feelings at this point in time’.
“I’m just silent and numb and just mentally trying to go through the process,” she added.
She resolved: “Every laugh, every joke he told. He was a smart man. He read the LA Times from cover to cover and walked around the Rose Bowl every day.
“He was healthy, he was ambitious… But he went to sleep and died in his bed back there.”
If you have experienced a bereavement and would like to speak with someone in confidence, contact GrieveWell on (734) 975-0238, or email info@grievewell.com.
Authorities have launched an investigation after two dead bodies were found on a plane shortly after it landed at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport in Florida.
The JetBlue flight had taken off from JFK airport in New York on Monday (January 6), and landed in Florida that evening.
According to FlightAware.com, the flight took off shortly before 8pm local time and arrived in Florida at 11:10pm, approximately 28 minutes later than scheduled.
After the plane was on the ground at the airport, two bodies were found inside the landing gear of the aircraft.
The bodies were found in the plane’s landing gear (Robert Alexander/Getty Images)
News of the discovery was confirmed by a spokesperson for JetBlue, who said in a statement: “On Monday evening, January 6, at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport (FLHIA), two individuals were found in the landing gear compartment of one of our aircraft during the routine post-flight maintenance inspection. Tragically, both individuals were deceased.”
The names of the two people found on the plane have not yet been confirmed, with the spokesperson saying that their identities and the circumstances surrounding how they ended up in the landing gear of the plane are still under investigation.
“This is a heartbreaking situation, and we are committed to working closely with authorities to support their efforts to understand how this occurred,” the spokesperson added.
Images from the scene shared by Florida news reporter Alex Browning showed a Broward County Sheriff’s van outside the airport in the wake of the incident.
According to CBS News, a medical examiner also joined sheriff’s deputies at the scene, which was centered around the airport’s Terminal 3 – the terminal home to JetBlue.
An investigation into the bodies is ongoing (Kevin Carter/Getty Images)
News of the two dead bodies in Florida comes after another deceased person was found in the landing gear of a United Airlines flight just last month.
The plane had had flown out of Chicago and landed in Hawaii on Christmas Eve, after which officials found a body in the ‘wheel well of the main landing gears’.
“The wheel well was only accessible from outside of the aircraft,” United Airlines said in a statement, while a spokesperson for the Maui Police Department told Hawaii News Now authorities had launched an investigation to determine how the person had come to be inside the compartment.
Maui police said no additional information about the United Airlines discovery was immediately available.
UNILAD has contacted Broward County Sheriff’s Office and JetBlue for comment and updates on the most recent case.
A man who was reported missing after setting out on a treacherous mountain hike ‘on a whim’ has tragically been found dead.
On December 30, Taylor Rodriguez set out to climb the 14,000 feet high Mount Whitney in California, despite having limited climbing experience.
Reportedly the 29-year-old didn’t have the necessary equipment needed for such a climb.
It’s thought that around 30,000 people try reach Mount Whitney’s summit on a yearly basis, but only a third of them succeed, says Nemo Equipment.
Taylor Rodriguez was reported missing by his loved ones on January 2 (Inyo County Search & Rescue/Facebook)
Rodriguez was reported missing on January 2, sparking Inyo County Search & Rescue to appeal for the public’s help on social media.
A statement posted to Facebook read: “On January 2, 2025, the Inyo County Sheriff’s Office received a report of an overdue hiker, Taylor Rodriguez, on Mt. Whitney.
“Rodriguez is described as a 5’9” male, weighing approximately 160 lbs., with brown hair and brown eyes. It is believed he was attempting to summit Mt. Whitney on December 30, 2024.”
It added: “There are concerns that he may be without adequate gear and has limited hiking experience.”
In an update shared on Saturday (January 4), it was confirmed that Rodriguez had been found dead at an elevation of 12,000 feet, near North Fork Lone Pine Creek Trail in Whitney Portal, California.
According to someone close to Rodriguez, the late 29-year-old wasn’t an experienced hiker, thus leaving people confused as to why he’d embark on such a difficult expedition.
Susana Guerra, an acquaintance of Rodriguez, told The Los Angeles Times: “A lot of us don’t understand what made him get in his car, drive to Whitney and kind of do this on a whim.
“He’s such a smart kid, really smart, and it’s hard to understand what he was thinking.”
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Mount Whitney has an elevation of 14,505 feet (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Mount Whitney is much safer to climb in the summer months, with only veteran hikers braving its colder temperatures in the winter.
Dave Miller, a professional mountain guide who has summited Whitney 80 times, said: “Trying to do it one day in the wintertime would be reserved for highly experienced people probably using skis so they could get down quicker.”
He added that those who hike up Mount Whitney in winter need to be equipped with crampons, ice axes, helmets, ropes and have a thorough knowledge of the route.
