Smokey Bear Birthday

Smokey's debut poster was released on August 9, 1944, which is considered his birthday.

The living symbol of Smokey Bear was an American black bear who in the spring of 1950 was caught in the Capitan Gap fire, a wildfire that burned 17,000 acres in the Capitan Mountains of New Mexico. Smokey had climbed a tree to escape the blaze, but his paws and hind legs had been burned. He was rescued by forest rangers fighting the wildfire.

At first he was called Hotfoot Teddy, but was later renamed Smokey, after the mascot. A local rancher who had been helping fight the fire took the cub home with him, but he needed veterinary aid. New Mexico Department of Game and Fish Ranger Ray Bell took him to Santa Fe and along with his wife and children cared for the cub. The story was picked up by the national news services and Smokey became an instant celebrity. Soon after, Smokey was flown to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., where he lived for 26 years. Upon his death in November 1975, Smokey's remains were returned by the government to Capitan, New Mexico, and buried at what is now the Smokey Bear Historical Park.

Smokey Bear is a fictional character of the longest running public service campaign in United States history. The character's mission is to raise public awareness to protect America's forests. Since its inception, Smokey's forest fire prevention campaign has reduced the area lost annually from 22 million to 4 million acres.

Smokey's message "Only You Can Prevent Forest Fires" was created in 1944 by the Ad Council. In a recent study, 95% of those surveyed could finish the sentence when given the first words. In April 2001, Smokey's message was updated to "Only You Can Prevent Wildfires."