In May of 2016, a wildfire near Fort McMurray, Alberta, Canada, forced tens of thousands of area residents to flee their homes.
Among the evacuees were Ninna Forte — who was pregnant, and due to give birth within a few weeks — and her partner Bill Briscoe.
The couple was stuck in traffic on Highway 63 for a number of hours. During that time, they listened to wildfire updates from reporter Briar Stewart on CBC radio.
“We had a boy’s name picked out, but still hadn’t settled on a girl’s name,” said Forte. “And we kept hearing Briar on the news. Briar Stewart.”
Fifteen days later, Ninna gave birth to a baby girl. Her name? Briar Adele Briscoe.
Sources:
- Snowdon, Wallis. “Baby Briar: Fort McMurray newborn named after CBC reporter.” CBC News 25 May 2016.
- 2016 Fort McMurray wildfire – Wikipedia
Image: Adapted from Wildfire near Highway 63 by DarrenRD under CC BY-SA 4.0.