WASHINGTON- The friendly, firewise bear known as Smokey is adjusting its campaign to fit with the times.
The “Smokey is Within” campaign kicked off on September 13, promoting anyone outdoors to tap into the fire safety they already know.
“With this campaign, what we’re trying to do is just bring him up, remind people that they have Smokey within, and they can channel that when they’re out in the wilds or out in their backyards,” said Washington State Forester, George Giessler.
With over 42,000 wildfires burning over two million acres to date, the need to prevent wildfires continues to grow.
“We can prevent them and so our focus with the Smokey Bear campaign, is to have people exercise some personal responsibility, think about their actions about when they can spark a fire,” says Maureen Brooks with the USDA Forest Service.
The National Interagency Fire Center reports nine out of ten wildfires are human caused, going directly against Smokey’s iconic “only you can prevent wildfires.”
“He’s hyper focused on the human-caused fires, and the message has only been tailored over the years to just reflect the times and to reach as many folks as possible,” says Giessler.
Two PSAs for the new campaign highlight the importance of fully putting out a campfire and limiting sparks coming from a car.
“The message that Smokey drives is preventing the spark, preventing the opportunity for a wildfire to become a catastrophic or destructive fire,” says Brooks. “In doing so, we are protecting not only our natural resources, but we’re protecting our communities and firefighters.”
