It’s been two weeks since a wildfire began about two miles away from Two Harbors, near Betty’s Pies on Highway 61.
The iconic shop was spared, as were many homes and businesses, thanks to the work of wildland firefighters. Fireline EMT Kael Keilwitz’s photographs help tell the story of extinguishing the blaze.
“It can help explain to the public why it might take several days to be able to reach 100 percent containment and be absolutely confident that we have that fire wrapped up before letting everyone back in,” Keilwitz said.
While studying nursing and computer science at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, photography classes piqued Keilwitz’s interest, mostly tied to his hobby of storm chasing. He also started volunteering with a prescribed burning crew.
When one of the burns was happening at the same time as class, Keilwitz found a “creative way to skip class” by asking his professor if he could photograph the firefight instead.
From then on, he was hooked. And with the downtime that comes with being a fireline EMT, he decided to pick up a camera, much to the appreciation of the public information officers and homeowners on the North Shore this month.
“It was just kind of something really cool and fulfilling to be able to do, instead of just sitting around in a car, bored all day,” when no one needed medical help, Keilwitz said.
Listen to the full conversation by clicking the player button above.
