On August 9, 1944, the U.S. Forestry Service authorized the creation of a baby bear symbol for firefighting efforts by the public. WWII was underway and there were fewer firefighters because many joined the military. The public was enlisted to fight fires. Part of it was war related as the Japanese had floated balloon bombs across the Pacific to start fires in the West. Artist Albert Staehle was commissioned to do the poster, which came out on Oct. 10. The original slogan was “Smokey Says – Care Will Prevent 9 Out of 10 Forest Fires”. The bear in the poster was named Smokey after “Smokey” Joe Martin who was a hero of the New York Fire Department for his leadership in fighting the huge “Greenwich Street Volcano” warehouse fire of 1922. The poster began the longest running public service campaign in American History. In 1947, the slogan was changed to “Remember…Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires”. The living embodiment of Smokey was a 5 pound, 3 month old black bear cub found in the Capitan Gap Fire in New Mexico in 1950. The cub hid in a tree and was found by firefighters. It had burnt paws and hind legs. It was taken to a hospital and ended up in the National Zoo of Washington, D.C. Nicknamed “Hotfoot Teddy” at first, this was quickly changed to Smokey Bear to attach him to the poster campaign. Publicity made the bear famous and he was a big tourist attraction at the zoo for the next 26 years.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smokey_Bear
https://smokeybear.com/en/smokeys-history/story-of-smokey
https://www.firehouse.com/home/news/10508916/smokey-joe-martin-the-greenwich-street-volcano
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