Baby Briar: Fort McMurray newborn named after CBC reporter
A baby girl, born just days after her parents were forced to flee a wildfire in Fort McMurray, Alta., will forever bear the name of a CBC reporter who helped document the disaster from the front lines.
As Bill Briscoe and Ninna Forte fled the flames, thoughts of their unborn baby were at the forefront of their minds.
Forte's due date was weeks away as they drove down Highway 63, unsure of whether their northern Alberta city would survive the ravages of the fire.
"We were just talking about things that you're seeing around you; the fire, the people in the ditches, the things that people were carrying on the backs of trucks, like boxes full of memories," said Forte.
"And then we started to talk about things that were going to start happening, like our baby coming right away."
That discussion was a welcome distraction from the pandemonium that surrounded them.
"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."
A veteran CBC broadcaster, Stewart had travelled to Fort McMurray just hours before the flames breached city limits, forcing more than 90,000 residents to evacuate their homes.
Briscoe said as the hours on the highway dragged on, and the sound of CBC radio broadcasts filled their car with fire news, the name Briar seemed the perfect choice for their baby girl.
"I always liked that name, and I heard it on the radio, and it kind of stuck," said Briscoe, who admits he's an avid fan of the public broadcaster. "I read the CBC website almost every day … If I get my news anywhere, I probably get it from the CBC."
Fifteen days after the evacuation — on May 18 — Briar Adele Briscoe was born, healthy, howling and blissfully unaware of the chaos that surrounded her arrival into the world.
"She's pretty awesome," said Forte. "She does most things that a one-week-old would do. Eat and sleep, and poop and pee, but she's pretty awesome."
Briscoe said he will have no qualms about telling his daughter about the origin of her name. His own childhood was filled with stories about the wildfire in Red Lake, Ont.
"When I was a kid in 1980, we were evacuated from my hometown by Hercules. They flew us all out of there."
"My parents always talked about that experience, I was too young to remember it, but now I'll be able to share a similar story with our daughter."
For her part, when Stewart heard about how Briar Adele got her name, it warmed her heart.
"I see it as the highest compliment, and am so happy that they appreciated our coverage during what surely would have been a chaotic time for their growing family.
"I am biased, but I think the baby's name is beautiful, and obviously adorable."
