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The West on Fire

Amidst the most catastrophic fires the American West has ever experienced comes a new podcast from the Huntington-USC Institute on California and the West.

"The West on Fire" explores our relationship with fire past, present and future. We learn from dozens of multidisciplinary experts and work towards new ways of thinking about fire in the region.
  1. black and white photo of fire on a mountain shot from a distance
  2. African American firefighters in LA
  3. A picture of Smokey Bear on a sign that reads "Only you can prevent forest fires"
  4. Three people stand looking at the destroyed landscape after a mudflow, one woman has her hands on her head
  5. Fire burns on campfire logs
  6. a man rides his bike across an intersection and the air in hazy
  7. A row of firefighters stand wearing orange fire gear, helmets and black backpacks.
  8. Man looks out into forest from a fire lookout tower.

Ditch Smokey Bear? Not So Fast Says Former Firefighter

A picture of Smokey Bear on a sign that reads "Only you can prevent forest fires"
Smokey Bear's look and message have evolved over the years since he first debuted in 1944. Here he delivers his message on a 1989 poster, before "forest fires" was changed to "wildfires" in 2001. | Joe Sohm/Visions of America/Universal Images Group via Getty Images
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It was my turn in the suit. As a new seasonal firefighter on the Uinta National Forest crew, I made the rookie mistake of agreeing to don the thick, fake-fur-covered costume of an anthropomorphized bear known to the public as "Smokey." I began to see the folly of my ways when a member of the engine crew walked me over to a freezer to show me the ice vest I would wear under the suit to avoid heatstroke during the 4th of July parade. “You’re going to need this,” he said, but all I could hear was “Sucker!”

Suffering in a heavy Smokey Bear costume in a summertime parade is a rite of passage for many in the Forest Service’s wildland fire community. It’s fun to wear the suit; the crowds, especially children, love Smokey—but it’s hot out there! Wearing the bear suit is not unlike carrying Smokey’s message of preventing wildfire today. It is immediately recognizable but takes much more heat these days than it did in decades past. As wildfires appear more frequently, burn more homes and are increasingly associated with decades of misguided fire suppression, some of the public have called Smokey’s message into question. Despite recent criticism, I still think Smokey has an important job to do, and that his message remains relevant today.

Smokey Bear shakes hands with a young boy in glasses and a striped shirt while other children watch.
Smokey Bear at a Forest Service Christmas Party. The longest-running public service announcement in U.S. history, Smokey is a symbol of fire safety across generations. | USDA Forest Service

Smokey Bear turned three-quarters of a century-old recently. It is the longest-running public service announcement campaign in U.S. history. The simple message, “Only YOU can prevent wildfires,” delivered by a cartoon bear, connects with young and old alike and translates across cultures and languages.

Native Americans depended on and stewarded the forests, living alongside and strategically using wildfire for thousands of years prior to the arrival of Europeans in North America. But Euro-Americans conceptualized ownership of and used forests much differently—the forest, and specifically timber, was viewed as a valuable commodity to be extracted in massive quantities to supply the energy and material needs for a growing young nation. Thus, for European colonizers, wildfire threatened not only lives, it also threatened a resource with enormous capital value. Once the forests were valued in this manner, that’s when private companies, Western states and their Congressional representatives lobbied heavily for federal protection from wildfire.

Early 20th century fire prevention posters used fear to push their messages. Images that evoked dread, such as wolves and skeletons, were common in the early artwork. For example, one image out of Montana featured a skeleton with a smoking torch listing all the careless ways humans start fires that consume “forests, homes and industries.” Another from Mississippi featured four hooded skeletons on horseback lighting the woods on fire under the banner “Death rides the forest.”

a poster says everybody loses when timber burns under an illustration of dead trees against a red sky
Pre-Smokey Bear government campaigns relied on scary images, like this early 1930s poster. We see the damaging legacy of this anti-fire policy in the frequent, large scale wildfires today. The accumulation of undergrowth and a lack of small fires lead to a fuel buildup that, combined with hotter and drier conditions caused by climate change, creates a tinderbox scenario in the forests. | USDA Forest Service

During World War II, the Office of Wartime Information helped the Forest Service create a number of messages, including a series that featured cartoons of Hitler and dehumanizing caricatures of Japanese leaders warning “careless matches aid the Axis.” Despite these warnings, fires burned up to 32 million acres annually between 1941-1945.

Poster of cartoon animals with text that reads "Please, Mister, Don't be careless" and "Prevent forest fires, greater danger than ever!"
Poster of cartoon animals with text that reads "Please, Mister, Don't be careless" and "Prevent forest fires, greater danger than ever!"
1/7 Pre-Smokey posters invoked other beloved cartoons, like this 1944 poster featuring Bambi and friends. When the rights to Bambi expired, Smokey Bear was created as a new character. | USDA Forest Service
Poster of Smokey Bear pouring a bucket of water with text that reads "Smokey says — Care will prevent 9 out of 10 woods fires!"
Poster of Smokey Bear pouring a bucket of water with text that reads "Smokey says — Care will prevent 9 out of 10 woods fires!"
2/7 An early 1944 illustration of Smokey Bear by Albert Staehle, part of the U.S. Forest Service Smokey Bear Collection. | USDA Forest Service
Poster of Smokey Bear kneeling with a smaller bear with text that reads "Why?"
Poster of Smokey Bear kneeling with a smaller bear with text that reads "Why?"
3/7 A poster of Smokey Bear from 1959. | USDA Forest Service
Poster of Smokey Bear with two youth scouts and text that reads "They help ... do you?"
Poster of Smokey Bear with two youth scouts and text that reads "They help ... do you?"
4/7 A 1960 Smokey Bear poster featured the Boy Scouts of America and Camp Fire Girls. | USDA Forest Service
Poster of Smokey Bear on a sign that reads "Please, only you can prevent forest fires."
Poster of Smokey Bear on a sign that reads "Please, only you can prevent forest fires."
5/7 A 1963 Smokey Bear poster featuring the line "Please, only you can prevent forest fires," which became Smokey's slogan in 1947. | USDA Forest Service
Poster of Smokey Bear with mottos and Smokey wearing the signature hat.
Poster of Smokey Bear with mottos and Smokey wearing the signature hat.
6/7 Posters of Smokey Bear throughout the years experimented with different slogans, like this one from 1982. | USDA Forest Service
Poster of Smokey Bear on a match with the text "Think before you strike."
Poster of Smokey Bear on a match with the text "Think before you strike."
7/7 A 1983 Smokey Bear poster. | USDA Forest Service

The Office of Wartime Information also experimented with an animal figure on its posters. First came a squirrel protecting its family in a tree from fire, followed by a one-year deal with The Walt Disney Company to use three characters from its animated movie Bambi. A grown-up Bambi urged: “Please, Mister, don’t be careless.”

Encouraged by the results but unable to renew the license with Disney, the Office conceived of a bear to act as the spokesperson for fire prevention. On August 9, 1944 the Office approved a cartoon bear using the slogan, “Care will prevent 9 out of 10 forest fires!” Named after popular New York City Assistant Fire Chief “Smokey” Joe Martin, Smokey Bear was rendered by artist Albert Staehle who gave him a hat and blue jeans. By 1947 the campaign began including the now popular phrase: “Remember—Only YOU can prevent forest fires!”

Albert Staehle holds a print with an image of Smokey Bear.
American Artist Albert Staehle, who created Smokey Bear in 1944, holds a print of the first version of the nationally recognized character. | USDA Forest Service

Following the end of WWII, the Office of Wartime Information became the Advertising Council and continued working on public service messages. Not only did the Smokey campaign prove easily recognizable and popular, it also was quite effective in its stated mission — to prevent unintentional human-caused ignitions that started the vast majority of wildland fires. From the time of Smokey’s introduction in 1944, the number of human-caused fires decreased 90% while the number of national forest visitors increased exponentially.

Over the past 75 years, the campaign adopted a number of approaches including bringing in “Smokey’s Friends” and asking the public to “Repeat after me.” In 2001 the message changed from “prevent forest fires” to “prevent wildfires” to recognize that many fires occur outside of forested areas, in a variety of vegetation. While the messages were all slightly different, the basic themes remained the same—prevent the careless start of fires. Over the years, the image of Smokey changed as well, as different artists retired and advertisers used new communication platforms to reach broader audiences. In 2013, Smokey gave responsible campers a hugin several print and television ads.

Black and white photo of President Dwight Eisenhower holding a Smokey Bear doll surrounded by 8 other men in suits at a presentation.
Smokey Bear was a project of the Office of Wartime Information, which helped the Forest Service create a number of campaigns during WWII. After the war, Smokey continued to be a national icon. President Dwight Eisenhower holds a Smokey Bear doll at a presentation in Washington, DC in 1958. | USDA Forest Service

I no longer have to wear the Smokey costume, but as the Chief Historian of the U.S. Forest Service, I still am called on to disseminate Smokey's message. Smokey Bear’s image is such a successful vehicle for transmitting information because, as found in studies by the Ad Council over the years, it transcends language and cultural barriers. Due in part to the program’s visibility and recognition, some attach the issue of misguided fire suppression to Smokey.

There is valid criticism that suppressing all wildfire starts for decades created dense forests that are more susceptible to burning and that, combined with a hotter, drier climate, is increasing the number of acres burned over the last decade. As land-managers grapple with landscape restoration and return fire to landscapes that depend upon it for their health, some feel that Smokey’s message is outdated and not ecologically sound. But Smokey’s message is about preventing unintentional, human-caused wildfires. I believe it would be a mistake to alter that message because it is still so needed today—keeping unintentional human-caused ignitions off the landscape is ecologically beneficial and reduces the strain on wildfire suppression resources. As we move further into the 21st century and human encroachment on forests steadily increases, Smokey’s simple admonition that people be careful with fire is more relevant than ever.

Sources

McClellan, Harry. Remember, Only You!: A History of Forest Fire Prevention Outdoor Advertising. Evansville, IN: M.T. Publishing Company, Inc., 2010.

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