Smokey Bear turns 80: Here's how the fictional face of fire prevention was born
Smokey Bear hot air balloon. Smokey Bear, the fictional face of fire prevention, turned 80 on August 9, 2024. (USDA Forest Service image)
Happy birthday, Smokey Bear! The fictional face of forest fire prevention is celebrating 80 years, making it the longest running and most successful advertising campaign in American history.
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 a fire prevention campaign. At the time, federal officials feared the nation’s national forest could become targets as the country was deep into World War II.
Musicians pose with a cardboard cutout of Smokey Bear in the 1950s. Smokey Bear, the fictional face of fire prevention, turned 80 on August 9, 2024. (USDA Forest Service image)
Six years later, firefighters found a cub with severely burned paws and hind legs in the aftermath of a blaze in New Mexico’s Capitan Mountains. The cub was named Smokey Bear after a New York Assistant Fire Chief, "Smokey" Joe Martin.
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When the bear died in 1976, his remains were buried in what is now Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan — not far from where he was found.
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Over the past eight decades, Smokey has starred in countless radio, television and print ads with his signature line: : "Only you can prevent forest fires." His message is as important today as it was 80 years ago.
Smokey on Airplane Cowling 1950 (USDA Forest Service image)
"Despite the success of Smokey Bear’s campaign over the years, wildfire prevention remains one of the most critical issues affecting our country’s forests and grasslands," said the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which manages the U.S. Forest Service where Smokey is employed. "With over 80 percent of wildfires being started accidentally or by careless or bad behavior, Smokey's message is as relevant and urgent today as it was in 1944."
In 2023, there were 56,580 wildfires in the U.S., burning a combined 2.7 million acres, according to the National Interagency Fire Center. That’s significantly less than the 7.6 million acres that burned in 2022 – or the 10.1 million acres that burned in 2020.