Where There’s Smokey, There’s Fire Safety

The badly burned black bear cub was clinging to a charred tree limb, terrified after the devastating fire in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest.

Firefighters--who themselves barely escaped the May, 1950, blaze--found the little bear and carried him back to their camp.

By the time the cub’s badly burned feet and singed fur had begun to heal, he had a new name--Smokey Bear--and a mission: He would be the real-life counterpart of the fictional character created six years earlier for a national fire prevention campaign.

This year marks the 50th anniversary of that first Smokey Bear ad campaign and celebrations are planned everywhere. Families traveling around the country can teach their children the importance of respecting nature through careful tending of her resources. “We see the anniversary as a way to reinforce Smokey’s message for those who got it growing up and to reach kids who may not know Smokey,” explained Nancy Porter, a U.S. Forest Service fire prevention specialist.

Forest officials note that growing numbers of families are taking to the woods each year to camp and hike--and that there were nearly 300 million visits to national forests in 1992 alone.

Whether camping or during hotels stays, parents can teach their children fire safety when they’re traveling. Here’s a tip from one Chicago Fire Department official: “I always make sure my kids know where the staircase in a hotel is and how to get down,” he said, explaining that children should be taught never to enter an elevator when there’s smoke or fire in a building.

It’s also a good idea to have a place for the family to meet outside a hotel, in case of a fire or emergency, officials note. “It’s really common sense,” the Chicago fire official said.

Smokey will be spreading the fire safety word everywhere this spring and summer. Look for him at the Indianapolis 500 in May, the Special Olympics-UCLA in Los Angeles in June, the World Cup Soccer Championships in Pasadena in July and the Wisconsin and Ohio State Fairs in August. In Capitan, N.M.--where Smokey Bear was found and where he’s buried--there will be a Fourth of July weekend rodeo. A giant Smokey balloon will fly at festivals in New Mexico and Arizona.

A day-long celebration is planned for Aug. 9--Smokey’s “official” birthday--on the National Mall in Washington D.C., complete with puppet shows, fire prevention games and songs. (Children can send birthday cards to Smokey that will all be displayed on the Mall. Write: Smokey Bear, Smithsonian Institution, Office of Elementary Education, Arts and Industries Building, Room 1163 MRC 402, Washington, D.C. 20560.)

My 8-year-old daughter Reggie and I recently visited the two-acre Smokey Bear State Park in tiny Capitan, a few miles from Lincoln, N.M., where Billy the Kid once lived, and not far from Ruidoso, a town known for horse racing and skiing. The small exhibit in Capitan explains how Smokey came to be--from early sketches through more than 40 years of forest service programming to the manufacture and marketing of commercial products.

Next door to the exhibit is a Smokey Bear Museum and gift shop crammed with even more kitsch (including different models of Smokey stuffed bears). We visited Smokey’s grave.

“Nine out of 10 forest fires are started by people being careless,” explained Larry Bandy, a New Mexico forester and the park manager who showed us around the exhibit. Reggie loved seeing the early posters and memorabilia--from banks to books to canteens to hats to shovels. I liked the advertising history. The messages were simple but crucial: Douse campfires carefully; make sure cigarettes aren’t thrown carelessly away; keep kids away from matches and fireworks; don’t burn trash when it’s windy.

“We need Smokey now as much as we ever did,” Bandy said.

Taking the Kids appears weekly.