STORY AND PHOTO BY KAREN BOSSICK

Randy Kemp remembers the boots.

“Steel-toed boots that don’t cause blisters on your feet are so important to firefighters. They’re a significant but overlooked piece of equipment for firefighters compared to things like the fire shelter and chainsaw,” he said.

Kemp fought wildfires in California and Oregon while pursuing degrees in international relations and geography at the University of California-Davis.

And over the past few weeks he helped to erect the new “Firelines” exhibit at The Community Library’s Sun Valley Museum of History located in Ketchum’s Forest Service Park at First and Washington streets.

“Firelines: The Story of Wildland Fires in the American West,” is being held in tandem with a number of films and other events organized by Ketchum’s Environmental Resource Center.

“We were inspired by the “Waterways” traveling exhibit from the Smithsonian that we had last year. It was interesting to see an exhibit could deal with larger scheme of things that are a big concern to people,” said Mary Tyson, director of the Regional History Department for the library.

The exhibit offers a timeline of wildland firefighting history in the West from 1865 to the present. It covers, for instance, how the first lookout was built in Idaho in 1902, how the first official prescribed burn was ignited in 1927 in Florida, how the Smokey Bear poster made its debut in 1944 and how the first McCall fire jump was made at smoke jumpers headquarters in 1943.

It discusses the Murphy Complex of fire of 2007, which at 653,100 acre was Idaho’s largest wildfire.

It also discusses the 2007 Castle Rock Fire, which burned 46,087 acres, and the 2013 Beaver Creek Fire, which burned 114,900 acres fires, and how they impacted the economy of the Sun Valley area.

It features the tools and uniforms wildland firefighters wear, and a video display of “Firestories”—interviews with Wood River Valley residents about their personal memories of those two fires.

“One of the things that impressed me is the change in attitude of locals,” said Kemp, a Regional History librarian. “They’re aware of the changing climate and the changes that has meant to the environment we live in. They acknowledge that this is the rugged West and the natural environment can’t be tamed.”

Kemp was out of town when the 2013 Beaver Creek fire started. He returned home to find his wife and children evacuated from their home in the Warm Springs neighborhood of Ketchum and staying with friends in Bellevue.

“I remember driving the highway and seeing the flames,” he said. “It brought back memories—being a firefighter is like being on a sports team. You have 20 people with a leader. Each of you has a role to play, a responsibility. It’s hard, dirty work—sometimes you’re fighting flames and sometimes you’re standing around making sure the fire is out. But you’re all working towards a common goal.”

Tyson had just moved to the Wood River Valley when her home in the shadow of Hailey’s Carbonate Ridge was evacuated.

“It was amazing seeing actual flames on the hills right from my yard,” she said. “I’d seen fire way off, as in a cloud of smoke. But this was my first experience with how powerful fire can be. I didn’t know how fire behaved, how fast it could move, how it might change directions, what it might take for it to cross the river where my home was.

“I remember the urgency finding important belongings and then seeing the back burn in Croy Canyon. I remember watching helicopters dip buckets into the Wood River and realizing my shake roof was susceptible to burning embers.”

Tyson has since replaced the roof on her house with something more firewise. And she’s learned even more about the complicated relationship humans have with the wild lands in which they choose to live.

“This exhibit invites us to think further about how the landscape of the American West is shaped by wildfires,” she said.

The exhibit, curated by Regional History Librarian Christina Jensen, will be up through Oct. 7. The museum is open from 1 to 5 p.m. Wednesdays through Saturdays.

The ERC programs that will augment the exhibition are:

• A screening of PBS’ “The Big Burn,” which follows the largest wildfire in American history as it rages through northern Idaho in 1910. 6 p.m. Tuesday, June 20, Community Library.
• Discussion of Timothy Egan’s book, “The Big Burn,” about the fire of 1910 that obliterated much of North Idaho. 6 p.m. Wednesday, June 21, Community Library.
• Firewalk by Deb Taylor, a U.S. Forest Service botanist through burned areas, exploring fire cycles, ecological impacts of fire and the process of ecosystem renewal. 10 a.m.-noon, Thursday, June 22 at the Greenhorn Gulch trailhead south of Ketchum. Free but pre-registration is required at 208-726-4333.
• Reading and discussion of the book, “Wildfire: A Century of Failed Forest Policy,” with George Wuerthner. 6 p.m. Tuesday, July 18, Community Library.
• Discussion of a book to be announced. 6 p.m. Wednesday, July 19, Community Library.

The Community Library films and discussions are free.