Just had the advanced training on starting fires…and now here I go with information reminding you how to prevent wildfires. But wait, back to his name question, is it Smokey the Bear or Smokey Bear? When I wrote about Trails Day on the CAMN website, I just copied what I was seeing in other emails. Then, I got a email correcting me. I was confused. I sang the song in my head…
Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear.
Prowlin’ and a growlin’ and a sniffin’ the air.
He can find a fire before it starts to flame.
That’s why they call him Smokey,
That was how he got his name.
…I was right, Smokey the Bear was his name. THEN…
I went to the internet and looked up information about it. Actually, smokey is not even a word from the word smoke. It is smoky like Smoky Mountains. But it is Smokey Bear, not Smokey the Bear. The word “the” was just added to make the song. You can read it all at www.smokeybear.com. But, I would like to highlight a few of my history finds from that website. Bambi was on loan from Walt Disney for only one year so the US Forestry Service had to find another animal since using animals proved to be a successful campaign. Smokey the cartoon character was a real bear cub who was rescued from a New Mexico fire in 1950 and lived out his life in a zoo after he healed from his burns. I hope you all will run to that website and find out more facts about wildfires, review the history of the ad campaign during the war and after, and take the pledge. I copied the Wildfire pledge from the website in case you just don’t have the time. Remember, only you can prevent a forest fire.
I pledge: BE SMART WHENEVER I GO OUTDOORS
- To use caution and common sense before lighting any fire.
- To understand that any fire I or my friends create could become a wildfire.
- To understand and practice proper guidelines whenever I or my friends create a fire outdoors.
- To never, ever leave any fire unattended.
- To make sure any fire that I or my friends create is properly and completely extinguish before moving on.
- To properly extinguish and discard of smoking materials.
- To be aware of my surroundings and careful when operating equipment during periods of dry or hot weather.
- To speak up and step in when I see someone in danger of starting a wildfire.
