Smokey Bear - National Association of State Foresters (2024)

FAQs

What was Smokey the Bear's famous saying? ›

Smokey's original catchphrase was "Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 out of 10 Forest Fires." In 1947, it became "Remember... Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires." In 2001, it was again updated to its current version of "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires" in response to a massive outbreak of wildfires in natural areas other ...

After a long and successful career, Smokey Bear is retiring in an effort to change the way people think about fire. Stefan Hood of the BC Wildfire Service says they are trying to shift people's focus away from how to suppress fire toward how to live with it.

Smokey received numerous gifts of honey and so many letters he had to have his own zip code. He remained at the zoo until his death in 1976, when he was returned to his home to be buried at the Smokey Bear Historical Park in Capitan, New Mexico, where he continues to be a wildfire prevention legend.

RANKING THE BEST LINES FROM THE MOVIE 'FRIDAY'

SMOKEY: “I'm gonna get you high today, because it's Friday. You ain't got no job, and you ain't got sh-- to do.”

1976. NOV. 9 Smokey dies at age 26. His remains are flown back to near where he was found in New Mexico.

The original Smokey message fostered the idea that all fires are bad and preventable, critics argue. In reality, fires are a natural part of the ecosystem, regularly clearing out old growth.

For much of the last century, Smokey was the pitchman for the federal government's aggressive wildfire suppression policy. That tactic, some scientists believe, may have contributed along with climate change to making American forests vulnerable long-term to combustion. They call it “the Smokey Bear effect.”

The new mascot is Ember the Fox. Ember was designed and made in Canada, where the idea originated. Although Smokey is an icon of past generations, Ember's brightly colored fur and animated look are more appealing to the younger kids of today.

However, there was also a real, living Smokey Bear, himself the victim of a forest fire as a young cub. Smokey was born in 1950 in the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico, where he was found badly burned. Despite the odds for survival, he was nursed back to health by veterinarians in Santa Fe, New Mexico.

Smokey Bear was born on August 9, 1944, when the USDA Forest Service and the Ad Council agreed that a fictional bear named Smokey would be their symbol for forest fire prevention.

Who was Smokey the Bear's girlfriend? ›

Smokey Bear and his wife "Goldie" who arrived at the National Zoo in 1962. They adopted a son in 1971.

Smokey Bear's famous slogan, "Only you can prevent forest fires," was added in 1947 by the Wartime Advertising Council, known today as the Ad Council.

The original Smokey Bear, playing in his pool at the National Zoo, sometime during the 1950s. At first he was called Hotfoot Teddy, but he was later renamed Smokey, after the character created a few years prior. Ranger Ray Bell of the New Mexico Department of Game and Fish heard about the cub and took him to Santa Fe.

Through the Cooperative Forest Fire Prevention (CFFP) Committee, NASF works with the USDA Forest Service and the Ad Council to manage and promote Smokey Bear and his message of wildfire prevention. Click here to get to know the CFFP. The CFFP Committee was authorized under the Smokey Bear Act of May 23, 1952.

Smokey Bear's famous slogan, "Only you can prevent forest fires," was added in 1947 by the Wartime Advertising Council, known today as the Ad Council.

The first Smokey Bear PSA produced featured his original catchphrase, “Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires.” By 1947, the phrase was changed to the even catchier, “Only you can prevent forest fires.” In 2001, the phrase was updated again to, “Only you can prevent wildfires,” to clarify the distinction between ...

Dressed in a ranger's hat, belted blue jeans, and carrying a shovel, he has been the recognized wildfire prevention symbol since 1944. Today, Smokey Bear is a highly recognized advertising symbol and is protected by Federal law (PL 82-359, as amended by PL 92- 318). He even has his own private zip code 20252.