LOGAN – Smokey Bear turns 80 this year and the Uinta-Wasatch-Cache National Forest’s Logan District Ranger Station wants to invite the public to join their celebration on Friday, August 9, from 8 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
The celebration will be held at the Logan Ranger Station located at 1500 East Hwy 89.
Smokey will make an appearance from 1 p.m. until 3 p.m. There will also be opportunities to have photographs taken with wildland Forest Service firefighters and law enforcement officials.
“It is an all-day affair and we hope to have our fire guys there and our law enforcement people there so people can have their photos taken with them,” said Shannon Leroy, a customer service representative. “We will have a game to play. It’s a wheel kids spin and depending on where it lands they can win award.”
There will be cupcakes people can have for as long as they last.
“We are really excited about the party,” Leroy said. “We are hoping for a big turnout.”
The Ranger Station has Smokey Bear T-shirts, hoodies hats and other memorabilia available for purchase.
Loyal Clark, a public affairs staff officer for the Forest service, said the Smokey Bear Wildfire Prevention Campaign was created in 1944, to inform people of all ages about their role in preventing wildfires.
“Smokey Bear’s message, ‘Remember…Only YOU can prevent wildfires,’ is still relevant today,” she said. “Smokey’s message is more relevant than ever before as we face a national wildfire crisis.”
She wants everyone to know wildfire prevention is everyone’s responsibility.
“The main causes are human related,” Clark said. “Man made wildfires are caused when campfires are left unattended, debris burning on windy days, careless discarding of smoking materials, hot ashes and BBQ coals, and operating equipment that throws sparks.”
Since the beginning of the campaign the iconic Smokey has been teaching people how to prevent forest fires.
Rudolph “Rudy” Wendelin, a U.S. Forest Service illustrator, began designing the artwork for the Smokey Bear campaign in 1945.
In 1952, Steve Nelson and Jack Rollins wrote the popular anthem that would launch a continuous debate about Smokey’s name. To maintain the rhythm of the song, they added “the” between “Smokey” and “Bear.” Due to the song’s popularity, Smokey Bear has been called “Smokey the Bear” by many adoring fans, but his name never changed. He’s still Smokey Bear.
The Smokey Bear campaign is the longest running campaign in U.S. history.