Smokey Bear Celebrates 75 years of Wildfire Prevention

Release Date: Aug 13, 2019

Contact(s): Mary Yonce (540) 984-4101

Edinburg, VA-August 12, 2019 – On August 9, the iconic symbol of wildfire prevention turned 75 years old.  Smokey Bear has been encouraging people to care for our nation’s public lands since 1944.  His campaign slogan, “Remember…Only YOU can Prevent Wildfires” has been the central message in USDA Forest Service fire prevention campaigns for decades.  Join us in celebrating Smokey Bear’s birthday!  Learn more! Visit www. Smokeybear.com for information on how YOU can prevent wildfires.  

 In celebration of Smokey Bear’s 75th birthday, the Forest Service and Virginia Department of Forestry will be hosting the Smokey Bear hot air balloon as part of the Shenandoah County Fair in Woodstock, August 24 - 27, 2019. 

 Smokey Bear was born on Aug. 9, 1944, when the U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council agreed that a fictional bear would be the symbol for their joint effort to promote forest fire prevention.

 Artist Albert Staehle was asked to paint the first poster of Smokey Bear. It depicted a bear pouring a bucket of water on a campfire and saying “Care will prevent 9 out of 10 fires.” Smokey Bear soon became very popular as his image appeared on a variety of forest fire prevention materials. In 1947, his slogan became the familiar “Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires!”

 Then in the spring of 1950, in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, a young bear cub found himself caught in a burning forest. He took refuge in a tree, and while managing to stay alive was left badly burned. The firefighters who retrieved him were so moved by his bravery, they named him Smokey.

 News about this real bear named Smokey spread across the Nation, and he was soon given a new home at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C. The living symbol of Smokey Bear, he played an important role in spreading messages of wildfire prevention and forest conservation. Smokey died in 1976 and was returned to Capitan, New Mexico, where he is buried in the State Historical Park.

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