The U.S. forest-fire prevention campaign introduced in 1944 was Smokey Bear. The character was created by the Ad Council and the U.S. Forest Service during World War II to encourage Americans to prevent human-caused wildfires.
Smokey’s original message was “Only YOU Can Prevent Forest Fires.” His image appeared on posters, public-service announcements, educational materials, and later television programs. The campaign made fire prevention understandable to children and adults by giving the message a memorable animal spokesperson.
The character’s name is officially “Smokey Bear,” not “Smokey the Bear.” The extra “the” became common in popular speech and even appeared in some songs, but the campaign’s official name omits it.
A real black bear cub named Smokey became the living symbol in 1950 after being rescued from a wildfire in New Mexico. He lived at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., until his death in 1976.