Smokey has WWII ties? Celebrate Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday with 8 fun facts.

Eve Chen, USA TODAY
Updated ·4 min read

Fill in the blank.

Only you can prevent _________.

If you said forest fires, you’re only partly correct.

In 2001, Smokey Bear’s catchphrase changed from “Only you can prevent forest fires” to “Only you can prevent wildfires.”

“That was just to recognize that wildfires occur in all kinds of ecosystems, not just forests,” explained Lincoln Bramwell, national historian for the U.S. Forest Service.

As Smokey Bear turns 80 on Friday, here are eight other fun facts about the iconic bear.

1. Smokey is tied to WWII

“A lot of people forget that wood was actually a vital war resource,” Bramwell said. “All the tanks and guns and everything and airplanes, they were made out of metal, but everything that went overseas was packed in wood crates.”

He explained that the wartime Advertising Council was tasked with spreading awareness and while fire prevention campaigns weren’t new, in the past, he said, “A lot of them were really kind of scary images, trying to scare you, like literal skeletons in the forest. Scaring people gets a message so far.”

2. Before Smokey, there was Bambi

Bambi changed everything.

Bramwell said in early 1944, The Walt Disney Co. granted the wartime Ad Council a license to use Bambi in its fire prevention messaging.

“And it was really effective. Children recognized it and different age groups. And they thought, ‘Oh, we're on to something,’” he said. “But the Walt Disney Co. would only allow a one-year license to use Bambi for that messaging. So that's when the wartime Ad Council kind of decided, ‘What if we use another type of cartoon kind of animal?’ and started tinkering with the idea. And that was sort of the genesis of the Smokey Bear character in 1944.”

Smokey and Bambi teamed up for public service announcements in later years. Other well-recognized figures who’ve helped spread Smokey’s message include Rod Sterling of “Twilight Zone” fame, Ray Charles and Dolly Parton.

3. There were real Smokey Bears

“In 1950, some firefighters on the Lincoln National Forest rescued a black bear cub that had been orphaned and injured in a wildfire there, and through kind of public outreach and sort of demand, that bear was actually transported to The National Zoo in Washington, D.C., and became the first living Smokey Bear and was a fixture for quite a while.”

The bear died in 1976, but a second orphaned bear, Smokey Bear II, called the zoo home until 1990, he said.

4. He's not Smokey the Bear

"In 1952, songwriters Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote a song about Smokey, adding 'the' to retain the song’s rhythm. The tune became so popular that many fans began calling the icon Smokey the Bear," according to the Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute's website.

His name is just Smokey Bear.

5. Smokey has his own zip code

“When Smokey the actual living bear was at the National Zoo, kids could send a postcard to Smokey, and Smokey would respond with a Junior Ranger kind of packet with instructions and activities, and it became so popular the post office created Smokey Bear's own zip code,” Bramwell said. “Only the U.S. president and Smokey Bear have individual zip codes.”

Smokey Bear’s zip code is 20252.

Five facts about Smokey Bear's eight decades of American wildfire-fighting iconography
Five facts about Smokey Bear's eight decades of American wildfire-fighting iconography

6. Smokey holds a record

“The Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention campaign is the longest-running public service advertising campaign in U.S. history,” according to Smokey Bear’s website.

What is the most visited national park? Answers to your biggest park questions

7. Smokey shares tips

Smokey Bear has long highlighted the role we play in preventing fires, but Bramwell said more recently, focus groups expressed interest in more practical tips.

“Can you explain it a little bit better? We’re not as used to campfires as we may have been in our parents’ or grandparents’ time. Can you give us some more nuts and bolts messaging?” Bramwell said. “And that's one of the ways those ads have changed just a little bit.

Instructions are available on Smokey Bear’s app and website. He also has an Instagram page.

8. Smokey’s message is as important as ever

A sign with Smokey the Bear warns of a very high fire danger for the day as smoke rises from the Trout Fire burning in the Domeland Wilderness of Sequoia National Forest, near Inyokern, California, July 19, 2024.
A sign with Smokey the Bear warns of a very high fire danger for the day as smoke rises from the Trout Fire burning in the Domeland Wilderness of Sequoia National Forest, near Inyokern, California, July 19, 2024.

“A tremendous demographic change in the continental U.S. is the number of Americans that move kind of on the edges of suburbs and beyond suburbs into closer proximity to natural vegetation,” Bramwell said. “They don't work in the woods like they used to 80 years ago, but far more people are living out adjacent to nature in a way that they are vulnerable to wildfires.”

Outdoor recreation also remains extremely popular.

The U.S. Forest estimates national forests saw 159 million recreational visitors between fiscal years 2018 and 2022. That’s not even including the hundreds of millions of people who visit national parks and other outdoor spaces each year.

“You just need to be responsible with that,” Bramwell said.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Smokey Bear turns 80. Celebrate with 8 fun facts.

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