08/09/2026
Happy Birthday Smokey Bear!!
🧸 Smokey Bear was created on August 9, 1944, by the U.S. Forest Service and the Ad Council during World War II after Japanese submarines shelled the California coast near a national forest, raising fears of fire attacks.
👨🚒 His name was inspired by “Smokey” Joe Martin, a famous FDNY fire chief who had suffered burns and blindness during a bold fire rescue in 1922.
But he’s more than just an icon. In the 1950s, when an orphan bear cub with severe burns was rescued from a wildfire, he became the living symbol of Smokey Bear. The public named him Smokey Bear, and he moved to the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., receiving so much fan mail he got his own zip. The real Smokey passed away in 1976 and was buried in Capitan, New Mexico.
🐾 Artist Albert Staehle drew the first poster of the bear wearing a ranger hat and jeans, pouring water on a campfire.
🔥 Remember….only YOU can prevent forest fires!
