Year Published:
Cataloging Information
Topic(s):
Fire History
NRFSN number: 20006
FRAMES RCS number: 58524
Record updated:
The national symbol of forest fire prevention, Smokey Bear, and the slogan, 'Only you can prevent forest fires!' already existed when a group of firefighters on the Capitan Gap Fire found an orphaned bear cub clinging to a tree after a flareup. The May 1950 fire, in the Capitan Mountains on the Lincoln National Forest in New Mexico, had made a sudden run, forcing the firefighters to retreat to a rockslide. When the smoke cleared, everyone was okay and the bear was discovered.
Citation
Allen, Larry S. 2019. The night we buried Smokey Bear. Fire Management Today 77(2):36-38.