Happy 80th Birthday Smokey!
Smokey Bear, the spokes-bear who has educated children about prevented unintended fires, was
launched on August 9th of 1944.
On May19th, 1950 a small and badly burned bear cub was found by soldiers from Fort Bliss and the Taos Pueblo Snowballs (firefighters) who had been called in to help fight a fire in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. The little cub became the living embodiment of Smokey Bear.
Remember, "Only YOU can prevent wildfires".
Smokey Bear images used with the permission of the USDA Forest Service.
Going to Greater Heights to Prevent Wildfires is the motto of the Friends of the Smokey Bear Balloon.
Get a Smokey Bear Balloon coloring sheets and other fun resources here.
Smokeybear.com is the official website for Smokey Bear. The site provides information for children K-8 on wildfires and prevention.
Do you want to see more Smokey? The USDA Library has a collection of Smokey Bear photographs, posters, paintings, and more.
This song caused confusion with Smokey's name. The song writers add a "the" to his name to match the music.
You can get a PDF of the song sheet below.
Listen: Smokey the Bear Song Performed by Eddy Arnold. U.S. Forest Service Wildfire Prevention PSA, 1952
In 2022,
87% of wildfires were caused by humans.