Happy 80th Birthday Smokey!
Smokey Bear, the mascot, was finalized 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.
This poster of Smokey Bear was produced in 1944 and uses the original slogan "Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires!" The artist is Albert Staehle. This poster image, and the following images are from https://smokeybear.com/.
In later posters Smokey was shown with his woodland friends as in this image from 1949. Several posters included Smokey with other animal, and these animals often have their young with them. Are the animal families in this poster now homeless?
Smokey was so popular sometime a poster only showed his face, this poster is from 1966. Smokey's face was often added to billboards and signs to remind people to prevent fires.
This image from 2011 presents Smokey as a more realistic, 3-dimensional bear. Viewers are encouraged to text SMOKEYBEAR for more information. What do you think about this updated bear?
In 2019 the art style changed again, this time Smokey is more cartoonish and the design is simpler. This redesign was part of Smokey's 75th birthday celebration. This image was also used in a Public Service Announcement featuring a Smokey Bear AI assistant (not real). This and other efforts help Smokey stay current with changes in technology and continue to be relevant. The images are still consistent recognizable.
Smokey Bear images used with the permission of the USDA Forest Service.
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.