National Symbols Cache. Smokey Bear (2024)

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What does Smokey the Bear symbolize? ›

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.

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.”

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.

In the spring of 1950, a bear cub was rescued from a fire in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico, treated for his burns, and then transported to Washington, DC, to serve as the living symbol of Smokey Bear at the National Zoo.

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 ...

(also Smokey Bear, Smokey) (old-fashioned, informal) an informal US name for a member of the highway police, so called because the hats they wear in some states are similar to the one worn by Smokey the Bear.

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 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.

Smokey Bear is an American campaign and advertising icon of the U.S. Forest Service in the Wildfire Prevention Campaign, which is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in United States history.

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.

How old was Smokey the Bear when he died? ›

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

But that success is the problem, according to some scientists. 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.

It was finally decided that the Nation's fire prevention symbol should be a bear. On August 9, 1944, the new fire prevention symbol was agreed upon by the Forest Service, Association of State Foresters, and the Wartime Advertising Council. Artist Albert Staehle was asked to paint the first poster of Smokey Bear.

In other words, Smokey can be a hardass about fire safety when he needs to be, but he isn't a narc. The visual symbol of the blue jeans gives Smokey a trustworthiness that he wouldn't have if he were dressed only in the campaign hat. The pants imply to the viewer that Smokey isn't just The Man talking down to them.

U.S. Forest Service Smokey Bear Collection (MS0159) Posters, 1902-2016. Smokey Says - Keep America Green. Prevent Forest Fires.

Some scientists now believe that the simple idea that fire is bad has made some forests more susceptible to flame—a phenomenon that they call the “Smokey Bear effect.” Areas where fires have been prevented for decades have simply been storing “fuel,” like underbrush growth and dead standing trees.