Smokey Bear was brought by the U.S. Forest Service from New Mexico in June of 1950 after being burned as a cub from a forest fire that swept through a portion of the Lincoln National Forest. Smokey Bear served as a living symbol of the Smokey Bear forest fire prevention program.

Prevent Wildfires Remember what Smokey Bear says: Only You Can Prevent Wildfires!

1944 Created in 1944, the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history, educating generations of Americans about their role in preventing wildfires.

Forest Fire Prevention Tips

• Obey local laws regarding open fires, including campfires.
• Keep all flammable objects away from fire.
• Have firefighting tools nearby and handy.
• Never leave a fire unattended.
• Carefully dispose of hot charcoal.
• Drown all fires.
• Carefully extinguish smoking materials.

Smokey Bear teaches people how to prevent human-caused wildfires and protect habitats. Children learn that forests, grasslands, and plains are homes to animals… create a Word/Picture Wall about these areas…

Smokey has black bear relatives who weigh as much as 800 pounds. Some of his grizzly bear cousins weigh almost a ton! WEIGHT AT BIRTH: About 1-1/2 pounds. In other words, he weighed about as much as a big loaf of bread.

As the Big Bear community is well aware, the Radford Fire began on the afternoon of September 5 in the Barton Flats area South of Big Bear Valley. The valiant efforts of firefighters during the first 36 hours of the initial attack were unrelenting and sustained.

Oct. 25, 2003 On Oct. 25, 2003, with the temperature in the 100s in the San Bernardino Valley, during hot Santa Ana winds, the Old Fire was intentionally started in Old Waterman Canyon, causing the evacuation of every mountain resident from Cedarpines Park to Big Bear, estimated to be approximately 80,000 people.

Seventy-two years after the birth of this endearing icon, Smokey remains a relevant symbol of wildfire prevention.

In eating fruit and nuts, they disperse seeds. And each seed is deposited on the forest floor with a little 'fertilizer' to get it started. Bears also help to clean up carcasses and, as predators, they help keep populations such as deer and moose in balance. Bears are also a good indicator species.

The Bear teaches us COURAGE. The Bear provides many lessons in the way it lives, but courage is the most important teaching it offers. Though gentle by nature, the ferociousness of a mother Bear when one of her cubs is approached is the true definition of courage.

Smokey has black bear relatives who weigh as much as 800 pounds. Some of his grizzly bear cousins weigh almost a ton! WEIGHT AT BIRTH: About 1-1/2 pounds. In other words, he weighed about as much as a big loaf of bread.