‘Camp Fire’ Survivor Names Baby After Medic Who Saved Her

A woman who survived California’s “Camp Fire” recently named her newborn after the medic who saved her life in November.

Anastasia Skinner was a month away from delivering her baby when she had to escape the town of Paradise, California, with her mother’s dogs, but she started feeling contractions while stuck in traffic as she tried to make her escape.

Skinner eventually made it to a gas station, where she frantically called for help.

“I knew I wasn’t going to make it,” Skinner, 25, told the Associated Press. “I called my husband and told him goodbye, tell all the kids I love them and make sure they remember me.”

Several volunteers rushed to Skinner’s aid, including Mickey Huber, a paramedic who serves as the assistant chief of operations for Butte County Emergency Services.

While one retired fire chief requested a helicopter to transport Skinner to the hospital, Huber knew the helicopter could not get to her in time.

“The smoke was thick, and the winds were blowing. The helicopters were having a hard time fighting the fire let alone airlifting patients,” Huber said.

Huber called for a three-car police escort to transport her to an ambulance, and he comforted her throughout the journey until she reached the hospital.

“My goal was to keep her breathing and get her down the hill,” Huber said. “Two of my ambulance crews were trapped by the fire moments before I got to Anastasia so there was a lot of doubt, a lot of worry.”

At the hospital, Skinner’s labor ceased; a doctor told her that smoke inhalation likely triggered her contractions.

That did not stop Skinner from giving birth to a healthy baby. On December 12, she welcomed a newborn girl into the world, naming her Zoele Mickey Skinner. She honored Huber’s efforts to save her life by choosing “Mickey” as her daughter’s middle name.

“She’s a blessing in every way including what happened at the Camp Fire,” Skinner said.

November’s Camp Fire claimed the lives of 86 people and destroyed nearly 14,000 residences throughout northern California, nearly leveling the town of Paradise, where authorities had ordered all 27,000 residents to evacuate.