Smokey Bear celebrates milestone birthday at California State Fair

(FOX40.COM) — A collection of federal, state and tribal agencies are coming together to celebrate Smokey Bear’s 80th birthday and the public is invited.

Although Smokey’s birthday is officially Aug. 9, Camp Smokey at the California State Fair offers a great opportunity to celebrate the bear that has been the face of the fight against wildfires since 1944.

At 12:15 p.m. on Saturday, CAL FIRE, the U. S. Forest Service, the Bureau of Land Management, the Bureau of Indian Affairs and the Firefighters Burn Initiative will put on a party for Smokey.

The public is invited to join in on the festivities at Camp Smokey, where visitors can earn a free limited edition Smokey Bear 80th birthday bandana for completing the six unique education stations.

People of all ages will learn about wildland fire safety, fire prevention, responsible recreation, the history of Smokey Bear, traditional Native American uses of fire and fire’s role in nature.

Smokey was created as a symbol in a joint effort to prevent forest fires and was first featured in a poster painted by Albert Staehle, one of the most popular illustrators at the time.

The poster showed Smokey pouring a bucket of water on a campfire saying, “Care will prevent 9 out of 10 fires.”

In 1947, Smokey’s famous slogan “Only YOU can Prevent Forest Fire!” was coined. In 2001, the slogan was changed to “Only you can prevent wildfires”, according to Smithsonian Magazine.

Today, Smokey wants to show people that campfires can be safe if handled correctly, but that it is still up to the public to help prevent wildfires.

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