A couple of weekends ago I visited Capitan, New Mexico with my dad. Capitan is the birthplace and burial site of the world’s most well-known bear.
On May 4, 1950, sparks escaped a cabin cookstove and started the Los Tablos blaze in New Mexico’s Lincoln National Forest. On May 6, a second fire, known as the Capitan Gap fire started in the same general area. Together these fires destroyed 17,000 acres of forest and grasslands.
On May 9, a fire crew brought a badly singed bear cub back to their camp. They had found the frightened cub clinging to the side of a burnt pine tree. Smokey was flown by Game Warden Ray Bell to a veterinary hospital in Santa Fe. Upon Smokey’s recovery in Santa Fe, the Forest Service flew him to the National Zoo in Washington, DC.
Smokey retired from the forest service on May 2, 1975. He was 25 years old; that’s 70 years old in human years, which in those days was the mandatory retirement age for all Federal employees. Smokey was the first bear to become a full-fledged member of the National Association of Retired Federal Employees.
Upon his death in 1976, Smokey’s body was returned to New Mexico. He now rests in peace, buried in the village of Capitan and in the shadow of the mountains where it all began.
The boulder that marks his grave was brought down from the forest where he was found.
To this day, Smokey Bear lives in the hearts of children (and in mine). He is a symbol of pride to the people of New Mexico, and his name is synonymous with forest fire prevention worldwide.
Remember…
Morning Bray Farm 
October 27, 2012 at 6:27 am
I had no idea there was an honest to god real Smokey Bear. I thought he and Yogi were ficticious characters.
Once again I have learned something from your very interesting post! 🙂
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October 27, 2012 at 8:10 am
Good old Smokey. Today he’d have to be politically correct and say, “Remember, only the Forest Service can put out a forest fire.”
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October 27, 2012 at 9:10 am
I remember good old Smokey…saw his public announcements on TV a lot when I was a kid. I have also been to Capitan…it’s a quaint little town. FYI-they have a pretty good feed store there. 🙂
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October 27, 2012 at 9:30 am
One of my favorite childhood toys is a Smokey the Bear bear. He has his ranger hat and a shovel. I was a baby when they found Smokey in the forest. I also know all the words to his song….strange what we remember from childhood.
“Smokey the Bear, Smokey the Bear, Growling and a prowling and a sniffin’ the air, He can smell a fire before it starts to flame, That’s why they call him Smokey and he sure deserves his name.”
My folks were never big on traveling the state to places when I was a kid. That’s probably why I take the grands on NM adventures so much. But when I was in college my roommates and I went to Lincoln and visited, that was the beginning of my NM treks. It is a beautiful part of NM….but then again, I think all of NM is beautiful.
Glad you and your family got to visit Smokey’s part of NM. Oma Linda
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October 27, 2012 at 10:48 am
I remember that picture of Smokey on the plane. My mom bought me a book about him when we were at one of the national parks. He probably helped solidify my love of animals. I passed this on to a friend of mine who is on a year long quest to visit each U.S. state. Hope she stops in Capitan.
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October 27, 2012 at 11:09 am
Such an interesting story about Smokey the Bear. Nice photos too.
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October 27, 2012 at 11:14 am
great post =o)
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October 27, 2012 at 11:41 am
Thank you for sharing! I did not know the story behind the friendly sign!
i only wish people were more careful…
All the best,
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October 27, 2012 at 11:44 am
I remember when Smokey Bear was found and in later years when he left the earth, many of us were heartbroken. He truly touched many hearts around here!
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October 27, 2012 at 11:56 am
I had no idea Smokey was a real bear. I always thought he was just a cartoon character. I’m glad he was rescued, taken care of and loved & respected so well.
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October 27, 2012 at 2:06 pm
Who knew? Not me! Thanks for the history on this loveable character. Did you know that Winnie the Pooh was modelled after a real bear too- and a Canadian one?
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October 27, 2012 at 2:18 pm
Shirley,
No, I didn’t! I learned something new today- thanks!
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October 27, 2012 at 2:51 pm
Smokey was my childhood hero – I drove my parents crazy singing the song, I stole my father’s Scoutmaster’s hat (which in Canada in the 1950s were identical to Smokey’s hat) so I could be Smokey’s deputy, I named my favourite teddy bear Smokey, I clipped out every magazine and newspaper article I found about him, I collected forest service pamphlets with his image on them, and I read the book so many times the spine split and the pages were so dog-eared they crumbled.
And in over a half century of being an avid camper, I have never, ever, left a campsite without flooding the fire and making sure it is completely out – all thanks to a message learned from Smokey the Bear when I was a child.
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October 27, 2012 at 6:53 pm
I think California’s High Patrol’s hats originated from Smokey’s hat and why police are called smokeys on the highway. It’s amazing how the positive impact a bear can have on a generation of kids and adults.
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October 28, 2012 at 7:17 am
Oh, geeeeeee.
When I was five, I think, somebody gave me a storybook all about Smoky Bear. I felt so sorry for the little tyke caught all alone at the very top of a tree!
The art in the book isn’t great, but it was good enough that I fell in love with him!
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October 28, 2012 at 7:41 am
What a successful ad campaign for forest fire prevention! This one really resonated with kids who, once they heard about Smokey, never forgot that it was their job to prevent forest fires. I know that I was hard at work preventing them (on the sidewalks of San Francisco, lol).
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October 29, 2012 at 6:40 am
What a beautiful and interesting story about Smokey the Bear. Grest photos too. I am glad you introduce the Bear to me.
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November 4, 2012 at 12:35 pm
What a bitter-sweet story. Sad the way Smokey had to come into service but what a wonderful job of educating he appeared to do – and still does, all these years later.
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November 5, 2012 at 12:32 pm
I did not know the worlds most well-known bear so far. Thanks for this information Justina. He is really a hero. He would make a wonderful example for a handcrafted teddybear in case that comes in my mind.
Liebe Grüße,
Pia
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